ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Climate classification

Okay kiddo, let me explain climate classification to you in a super easy way. So, you know how the earth has different areas with different types of weather, right? Some places are really hot and dry, some places are rainy all the time and others are cold and snowy. Well, scientists have come up with a way to group all of these different climates into categories based on their temperature and moisture levels. This is what we call climate classification.

There are different ways that scientists classify climates, but the most common method is called the Koppen system. This system divides the world into five major climate groups: tropical, dry, temperate, cold, and polar. Each group is then further divided into subcategories based on average temperature and moisture levels throughout the year.

Let's start with the tropical climate group. This includes places like the Amazon rainforest and parts of Africa. These areas are generally hot and humid all year round, with lots of rainfall. Next up is the dry climate group, which includes deserts like the Sahara and the Mojave. These areas are hot, but very dry and receive little to no rainfall.

The temperate climate group includes places with four seasons, like the United States, Europe, and China. These areas have mild to cool temperatures and get a mix of rain and snowfall throughout the year. Then we have the cold climate group, which includes places like Siberia and Alaska. Here, temperatures stay cold year-round and there is usually a lot of snow.

Finally, we have the polar climate group, which includes the Arctic and Antarctic regions. These areas are bitterly cold with lots of ice and snow, and very little plant or animal life.

So there you have it, climate classification explained in a nutshell. It's all about sorting different parts of the world into categories based on their weather patterns.