Tropical savanna climate

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Worldwide zones of Tropical savanna climate (Aw).

Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories "Aw" and '"As.

Description

These climates have monthly mean temperature above 18°C in every month of the year and typically a pronounced dry season, with the driest month having precipitation less than 60 mm and also less than (100 − [total annual precipitation {mm}/25]). This latter fact is in direct contrast to a tropical monsoon climate, whose driest month sees less than 60 mm of precipitation but has more than (100 – [total annual precipitation {mm}/25]). In essence, a tropical savanna climate tends to either see less rainfall than a tropical monsoon climate or have more pronounced dry seasons than a tropical monsoon climate.

Distribution

Most places that have this climate are found at the outer margins of the tropical zone, but occasionally an inner-tropical location (e.g., San Marcos, Antioquia, Colombia) also qualifies. Similarly, the Caribbean coast, eastward from the Gulf of Urabá on the Colombia–Panamá border to the Orinoco river delta, on the Atlantic ocean (ca. 4,000 km), have long dry periods (the extreme is the BSh climate (see below), characterised by very low, unreliable precipitation, present, for instance, in extensive areas in the Guajira, and Coro, western Venezuela, the northernmost peninsulas in South America, which receive <300 mm total annual precipitation, practically all in two or three months). This condition extends to the Lesser Antilles and Greater Antilles forming the Circumcaribbean dry belt. The length and severity of the dry season diminishes inland (southward); at the latitude of the Amazon river — which flows eastward, just south of the equatorial line — the climate is Af. East from the Andes, between the dry, arid Caribbean and the ever-wet Amazon are the Orinoco river' llanos or savannas, from where this climate takes its name.

Sometimes As is used in place of Aw if the dry season occurs during the time of higher sun and longer days. This is the case in parts of Hawaii, East Africa (Mombasa, Kenya), Sri Lanka (Trincomalee) and coastal regions of Northeastern Brazil (from Natal to Maceió), for instance. In most places that have tropical wet and dry climates, however, the dry season occurs during the time of lower sun and shorter days because of rainshadow effects during the 'high-sun' part of the year.

Charts of selected cities

Bangkok
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     10     32 21     20     33 23     30     34 25     70     35 26     190     34 26     150     33 25     150     33 25     180     33 25     320     32 25     230     32 24     50     32 23     10     31 21 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Weatherbase [1]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.4     90 70     0.8     91 74     1.2     93 77     2.8     95 79     7.5     93 79     5.9     92 78     5.9     91 77     7.1     91 77     13     90 76     9.1     90 76     2     89 74     0.4     88 69 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Darwin
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     420     32 25     365     31 25     321     32 25     100     33 24     20     32 22     2     31 20     1.3     31 19     5.2     31 20     15     33 23     69     33 25     139     33 25     247     33 25 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: [2]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     17     89 77     14     89 76     13     89 76     3.9     91 75     0.8     90 72     0.1     87 68     0.1     87 67     0.2     88 69     0.6     91 73     2.7     92 77     5.5     92 78     9.7     91 78 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Kolkata
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     17     27 14     23     30 17     33     34 22     48     36 25     102     36 26     260     34 27     332     32 26     329     32 26     296     32 26     151     32 24     17     30 19     7.4     27 14 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: IMD
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7     80 57     0.9     85 62     1.3     93 71     1.9     97 77     4     97 80     10     93 80     13     90 79     13     90 79     12     90 78     6     89 75     0.7     86 66     0.3     81 58 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Lagos
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     13     32 22     41     33 24     84     33 24     146     32 24     202     31 23     316     29 22     243     28 22     122     28 22     160     29 22     125     30 22     40     31 23     15     32 23 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: [3]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.5     90 72     1.6     91 75     3.3     91 75     5.7     90 75     8     88 73     12     84 72     9.6     82 72     4.8     82 72     6.3     84 72     4.9     86 72     1.6     88 73     0.6     90 73 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Mumbai
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.6     31 16     1.5     31 17     0.1     33 21     0.6     33 24     13     33 26     574     32 26     868     30 25     553     29 25     306     30 24     63     33 23     15     33 21     5.6     32 18 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Indian Meteorological Department
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0     87 62     0.1     88 63     0     91 69     0     92 75     0.5     92 79     23     89 78     34     86 77     22     85 76     12     86 75     2.5     91 74     0.6     92 69     0.2     90 65 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Rio de Janeiro
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     130     32 23     120     33 23     130     32 23     100     30 21     70     28 19     50     27 18     40     27 17     40     27 18     60     27 18     80     28 20     90     30 21     130     31 22 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Weatherbase [4]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.1     90 73     4.7     91 73     5.1     90 73     3.9     86 70     2.8     82 66     2     81 64     1.6     81 63     1.6     81 64     2.4     81 64     3.1     82 68     3.5     86 70     5.1     88 72 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

See also

• Tropics
• Köppen climate classification
• Tropical marine climate