Some places have very different weather.
Summers are hot. Winters are very cold. Snow stays on the ground for a long time. This happens far from the ocean. Do you like the snow?
Some lands have very big changes in weather.
Summers can be very hot. Winters are often very cold. This happens in the middle of large lands.
These lands are far from the ocean. The ocean does not keep the air warm. Most of these places are in the north. Snow often stays on the ground for months. Many places get rain in the warm months. These places have many seasons.
Some parts of the world have big changes in weather. We call this a continental climate.
This happens in the middle of large lands. These places are far from the ocean. Oceans can keep air warm or cool. Without them, the air changes a lot. Summers can be very hot. Winters can be very cold.
In the winter, the air gets very cold. This happens when cold air masses move in. In the summer, the sun stays up longer. This makes warm air masses form. This makes the summer heat strong. Most of these places are in the north. You can find them in North America and Eurasia.
Many of these areas get rain in the warm months. Some places get a lot of snow. The snow often stays on the ground for a month or more. In some spots, like the Persian Plateau, it rains more in winter. Most of these lands are in the Northern Hemisphere. This is because there are more large lands there.
Some parts of our world have very big changes in weather. We call this a continental climate.
These areas have warm or hot summers. They also have very cold winters. This happens because these places are often far from the ocean. Oceans can act like a blanket to keep air steady. Without that help, the air changes a lot. This way of living is called continentality. It measures how much a region feels these big changes.
How does this weather work? It happens because of how air moves. In the winter, cold air masses move in. This happens because the days are shorter. In the summer, warm air masses form. This happens because the sun stays up longer. These warm summers can feel like tropical places. However, the winters are much colder than other areas at the same latitude. Most of the rain falls during the warm months.
In some spots, like the Persian Plateau, more rain falls in winter.
Scientists use special systems to name these climates. One famous system is the Köppen climate classification. In this system, these climates use the capital letter D. Another way to name them is the Trewartha system. There, they are called Dc. There are many different types of these climates. Some are hot-summer types, like Dfa. Others are subarctic types, like Dfc. Some are even influenced by monsoons or the Mediterranean.
You can find these climates in many large places. Most of them are in the Northern Hemisphere. This is because there are more huge lands there. You can find them in central and eastern North America. They are also in Eurasia. Many parts of Russia are in this zone. You can see it in northern China and Mongolia. It is also in parts of Canada and the United States. Even central Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have this climate.
These climates link to the world you know. For example, you might see snow on the ground. In these areas, snow often stays for over a month. You might also see big thunderstorms in the summer. The weather in summer is usually more stable than in winter. These climates change into other types as you move. They can turn into temperate climates near the equator. They can also turn into dry climates with less rain. This shows how much the land and ocean shape our world.
A continental climate is a specific type of weather pattern found in large landmasses. These regions experience very large changes in temperature throughout the year. This means they have warm or hot summers and very cold winters. This extreme change is important for understanding how different parts of the Earth work.
This climate happens because of how air moves and how land interacts with the atmosphere. In the winter, cold air masses move into these regions because the days are shorter. During the summer, warm air masses form because the sun stays up longer. These areas are often far from the ocean. Oceans usually act as a moderator, which means they keep temperatures steady. Without the ocean nearby, the temperature is not moderated. This effect is called continentality. It measures how much a region experiences these big temperature swings.
Precipitation, or rain and snow, follows a specific pattern in these zones. Most of the precipitation is moderate in amount. It usually happens during the warmer summer months. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. In the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, precipitation is different. Some regions around the Persian Plateau also show a winter maximum for precipitation. In many continental areas, a portion of the rain falls as snow. This snow often stays on the ground for more than one month.
Scientists use different systems to classify these climates. The Köppen climate classification system is very common. In this system, continental climates are identified by the capital letter D. Another system is the Trewartha climate classification. In the Trewartha system, these climates are identified as Dc. These systems help researchers organize the many different types of weather found across the globe.
There are several distinct types of continental climates based on summer heat and rain. The Köppen system divides them into groups like Dfa, Dfb, and Dfc. For example, Dfa is a hot-summer humid continental climate. It has at least one month averaging above 10°C and four months above 10°C. Dfb is a warm-summer version where all months are below 22°C. Dfc is a subarctic climate with only one to three months above 10°C. There is also Dfd, which is an extremely cold subarctic climate.
Some continental climates are influenced by other major weather systems. Monsoon-influenced climates, like Dwa or Dwb, have very different rain patterns. In these areas, the wettest summer month has at least ten times as much rain as the driest winter month. There are also Mediterranean-influenced continental climates, such as Dsa or Dsb. These regions have at least three times as much rain in the winter as in the summer. In these specific types, the driest summer month receives less than 60 mm of rain.
Most continental climates are found in the Northern Hemisphere. This is because there are much larger landmasses in the north. You can find them in central and eastern North America. They also cover much of Eurasia. Specific places include northern and northeastern China and northern Mongolia. Most of Korea and central Afghanistan also have this climate. You can find it in parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and much of the Russian Federation. In North America, it covers central and southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
These climates connect to many other environmental systems. In Europe, they grade off into oceanic climates as you move west. In Asia and the central United States, they transition into humid subtropical or Mediterranean climates. As you move toward the equator, they grade into temperate climates. If precipitation becomes too low, they turn into semi-arid or arid climates. This shows how continental climates sit between the wet oceans and the dry deserts.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (4)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.