The condition of a region of the Earth in terms of prevailing atmospheric phenomena, such as temperature, humidity, wind, and so on, averaged over a number (30 is usual) of years. Recognized as one of the important soil-forming factors. The most commonly used classification system for world climatic zones was devised by the Russian scientist Vladimir Köppen (1856–1940). The classification is based on precipitation and temperature data, and has been modified several times by several authors. The latest version is illustrated, and summarized in Table C18.
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Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolph, B., and Rubel, F., 2006. World map of Koppen‐Geiger climate classification. Meteor. Z., 15: 259–263.
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(2008). Climate. In: Chesworth, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3995-9_112
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