This list of locations with a subtropical climate specifically lists locations considered within the subtropics. The subtropics are geographic and climate zones located roughly between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn and the 40th parallel in both hemispheres. Subtropical climate regions can exist at high elevations within the tropics, such as across the Mexican Plateau and the Ethiopian Highlands and in Da Lat of the Vietnamese Central Highlands. These regions can also exist beyond 45 degrees poleward due to maritime influences on the NW European and Argentinian coasts, according to Trewartha.
Six climate classifications utilise the term to help define the various temperature and precipitation regions for the planet Earth. Using the Trewartha climate classification eight or more months of the year within the subtropics have an average temperature at or above 10 °C (50 °F). The Köppen climate classification instead classifies the warmest month above 22 °C (71.6 °F) and the coldest above 0 °C (32 °F) or −3 °C (26.6 °F) depending on preference. Under both classifications, at least one month must average below 18 °C (64.4 °F) or the climate is considered tropical.
Leslie Holdridge defined the subtropical climates as having a mean annual biotemperature between the frost line or critical temperature line, 16 °C to 18 °C (depending on locations in the world) and 24 °C.[1] The frost line separates the warm temperate region from the subtropical region. It represents the dividing line between two major physiological groups of evolved plants. On the warmer side of the line, the majority of the plants are sensitive to low temperatures. They can be killed back by frosts as they have not evolved to withstand periods of cold. On the colder temperate side of the line, the total flora is adapted to survive periods of variable length of low temperatures, whether as seeds in the case of the annuals or as perennial plants which can withstand the cold. The [16 °C-18 °C] segment is often "simplified" as 17 °C (= 2(log212+0;5) ≈ 16.97 °C).[2]
The Holdridge subtropical climates straddle more or less the warmest subtropical climates and the less warm tropical climates as defined by the Köppen-Geiger or Trewartha climate classifications.
However Wladimir Köppen has distinguished the hot or subtropical and tropical (semi-)arid climates (BWh or BSh) having an average annual temperature greater than or equal to 18 °C (64.4 °F) from the cold or temperate (semi-)arid climates (BWk or BSk) whose annual temperature average is lower.[3] This definition, though restricted to dry regions, is almost similar to Holdridge's.
A great portion of the world's deserts are located within the subtropics, due to the development of the subtropical ridge. Within the humid monsoon regions in the subtropics such as Northern Vietnam (including Hanoi), a wet season is seen annually during the summer, which is when most of the yearly rainfall falls. Within the Mediterranean climate region, the wet season occurs during the winter. Areas bordering warm oceans are prone to locally heavy rainfall from tropical cyclones, which can contribute a significant percentage of the annual rainfall. Plants such as date palms, citrus, mango, litchi, and avocado are grown within the subtropical zones.
This is not a complete list and is not intended to be one. Many of the higher mountains at tropical latitudes have sparsely (if at all) inhabited areas with a subtropical climate.
.jpg)
