Although there are several classifications of climate, the most widely used system was proposed by Russian-German scientist Wladimir Köppen in 1900. He observed that the type of vegetation in a region ...

A new map brings clarity and beauty to Earth's varied and diverse climates.

You probably saw a multi-coloured climate map at least once in school. You might have pored over it, fascinated. Was Antarctica really a cold desert? And why was so much of Russia listed as tundra?

Climates could be classed in a number of ways, but the most important elements of climate are temperature and precipitation. It is of course impossible to measure temperature and precipitation every ...