Oceanic climate Totally Explained

Everything about Maritime Climate totally explained

An oceanic climate (also called marine west coast climate and maritime climate) is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia. Oceanic climates are characterized by a narrower annual range of temperatures than are encountered in other places at a comparable latitude, and don't have the extremely dry summers of Mediterranean climates.
Similar climates, at least in thermal range, are also found in tropical highlands even at considerable distance from any coastline. Generally, they fall into Köppen climate classification Cfb or Cwb. The narrow range of temperatures results not from proximity to a coastline but instead to the slight thermal range of temperatures between seasons characteristic of tropical lowlands; altitudes are high enough that such places have at least one month cooler than 14 °C and don't qualify for grouping in the true tropical climates. Unlike the norm in true oceanic climates, these moist highland tropical climates may have a marked winter drought, as in Mexico City. As with oceanic climates, winters are relatively warm and summers are comparatively cool, so the agricultural potential in both oceanic climates and moist tropical highland climates is practically identical.

Precipitation

Precipitation is both adequate and reliable at all times of the year in oceanic climates, except in certain tropical highland areas, which would have tropical savanna or steppe climates (with a dry season in winter) if not for the high altitude making them cooler (Koppen Cwb). The Pacific Northwest and south-central Chile is often considered as having an Oceanic climate, although the dry summers in parts of this area actually fit the Mediterranean climate (Koppen "Csb").

Temperature

Overall temperature characteristics vary among oceanic climates; those at the lowest latitudes are subtropical from a thermal standpoint, but more commonly a mesothermal regime prevails, with cool, but not cold, winters and warm, but not hot, summers. Summers are also generally much cooler than in areas with a humid subtropical climate. Average temperature of warmest month must be less than 22 °C, and that of the coldest month warmer than -3 °C (Although American scientists prefer 0 °C in the coldest month). Poleward of the latter is a zone of subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc), with relatively mild winters (coldest month warmer than -3) and cool summers and a summer season (average temperature at least 10 °C or 50 °F) of less than four months; examples of this climate include parts of coastal Iceland in the Northern Hemisphere and extreme southern Chile in the Southern Hemisphere (the fact that this form of climate exists in both hemispheres ruling out the use of such terms as subarctic or boreal to denote it; even though these terms are used to refer to climates characterized by short summers, they're also synonyms for "northern" and therefore inappropriate).

Additional information

The British Isles experiences a typically maritime climate, with prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean. The annual average temperature range in the UK is only about 10 °C. Although the west coast of Alaska experiences a maritime climate, the absence of an equally significant warm Pacific current in the upper-mid latitudes means that these regions are generally colder in winter, with more precipitation falling as snow.
All mid-latitude oceanic climates are classified as humid. Some rainshadow climates with thermal régimes similar to those of oceanic climates but steppe-like (BSk) or even desert-like (BWk) scarcity of precipitation include lowland valleys of Washington and Oregon to the east of the Cascade Range, Patagonia in southern Argentina, and the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Another example are coastal areas in southeast Western Australia.

Countries/Regions with mild maritime climate

Northern and southwest France
The Netherlands
Belgium
Western Germany
Western Switzerland (Lowland areas)
Northwest Spain (often as csb)
Northern Portugal (often as csb, too)
Andorra
Southwest Norway
Parts of Denmark
Ireland
Great Britain
New Zealand
Tasmania, Australia
Southern parts of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia
Coastal areas of southwestern South Australia, Australia (as csb)
Western areas of the south coast of Western Australia
Central Argentina
Southern and central Chile (as csb)
Western parts of Oregon and Washington (U.S.A.) and British Columbia (Canada) (as csb; cfb in most of British Columbia)
Northwest California (as csb) and Alaskan panhandle (U.S.A.)
Mountainous locations in some tropical countries (for example Indian subcontinent, Latin America, southern and central Africa; often as cwb)
Some mountainous areas across southern Europe
Parts of Himalayas

The 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm (freeze line) or the -3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherms (persistent snow line) are the possible lines dividing the oceanic and the humid continental climates, in between which are the following regions:

Eastern Germany

Luxembourg

Liechtenstein

Western Poland

Eastern Switzerland and parts of Austria

Western Alps between 700 and 1000 meters.

Central and Eastern Alps between 500 and 800 meters.

Southern Sweden

Fjord areas inland from the coast of southwest Norway and parts of the southeast coast of Norway

Much of Denmark

Southern coastal areas of the Alaskan Panhandle

Most of the Czech Republic

Parts of western Slovakia

Northwest Romania

Most of Hungary

Slovenia

Parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina

Mountainous areas across southern Europe

Himalayas

Some southern coastal areas of New England

Notable cities with oceanic climates

Notable cities which have oceanic climates include:

Africa

Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Tristan da Cunha

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Cwb

Nairobi, Kenya Cwb Note that the latter two locations are high-altitude locations in the tropical areas that would be in savanna (Aw) or steppe (BSHw) zones except for high altitude.

Europe

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bergen, Norway

Berlin, Germany

Bilbao, Spain

Bordeaux, France

Bratislava, Slovakia

Brussels, Belgium

Cardiff, Wales

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dublin, Ireland

Geneva, Switzerland

Glasgow, Scotland

Gothenburg, Sweden

Grenoble, France

Hamburg, Germany

London, England

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Paris, France

Prague, Czech Republic

San Sebastián, Spain

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vienna, Austria

Vigo, Spain csb

Wrocław, Poland

North America

Mexico City, Mexico cwb

Portland, Oregon, USA csb

Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

Seattle, Washington, USA csb

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada csb

Central America

Guatemala City, Guatemala cwb Note that these locations have moist tropical highland climates.

South America

Curitiba, Brazil

Mar del Plata, Argentina

Castro, Chile

Puerto Montt, Chile

Valdivia, Chile csb The following have moist tropical highland climates:

Bogotá, Colombia

Quito, Ecuador

Sucre, Bolivia cwb

Asia

Thimphu, Bhutan cwb

Oceania

Auckland, New Zealand

Christchurch, New Zealand

Dunedin, New Zealand

Hobart, Australia

Melbourne, Australia

Sydney, Australia

Wellington, New Zealand

Exceptions and borderline cases

Porto has a temperature range characteristic of an oceanic climate but so little rainfall during summer that they must be considered part of a Mediterranean climate zone, despite their milder summer temperatures.

Countries/Regions with subpolar oceanic climate

Parts of coastal Iceland

Faroe Islands

Northwestern coastal areas of Norway reaching to 70°N on some islands

Southern islands of Alaska and parts of the Alaskan Panhandle

Far south of Chile and Argentina

Parts of the Andes and Himilaya (as cwc)

Mountainous areas of Europe, including highlands in Scotland, southwestern Norway Some notable cities with the subpolar Cfc climate are:

Harstad, Norway

Thorshavn, Faroe Islands

Unalaska, Alaska (also known as Dutch Harbor)

Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

La Paz, Bolivia cwc

Examples

Northern hemisphere

Southern hemisphere

Further Information

Get more info on 'Maritime Climate'.

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