Mediterranean climate

These weather conditions are typically experienced in the majority of Mediterranean-climate regions and countries, but remain highly dependent on proximity to the ocean, altitude and geographical location.

The dry summer climate is found throughout the warmer middle latitudes, affecting almost exclusively the western portions of continents in relative proximity to the coast.

The climate type's name is in reference to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea, which mostly share this type of climate, but it can also be found in the Atlantic portions of Iberia and Northwest Africa, the Pacific portions of the United States and Chile, extreme west areas of Argentina, around Cape Town in South Africa, parts of Southwest and South Australia, and parts of Central Asia.

Mediterranean climate zones are typically located along the western coasts of landmasses, between roughly 30 and 45 degrees north or south of the equator.

Areas with this climate are also where the so-called "Mediterranean trinity" of major agricultural crops have traditionally been successfully grown (wheat, grapes and olives).

[6] During summer, regions of the Mediterranean climate are strongly influenced by the subtropical ridge which keeps atmospheric conditions very dry with minimal cloud coverage.

In some areas, such as coastal California, the cold current has a stabilizing effect on the surrounding air, further reducing the chances for rain, but often causing thick layers of marine fog that usually evaporates by mid-day.

Toward the polar latitudes, total moisture usually increases; for instance, the Mediterranean climate in Southern Europe has more rain.

[10] In contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around 21 °C (70 °F)[11] due to the continuous upwelling of cold subsurface waters along the coast.

Notable exceptions to the usual proximity from bodies of water, thus featuring extremely high summer temperatures and cooler winters, include south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq (Urfa, Erbil), surrounded by hot deserts to the south and mountains to the north.

[citation needed] Mediterranean vegetation shows a number of adaptations to drought, grazing, and frequent fire regimes.

[14] Aquatic organisms in these regions show distinct long-term patterns in their structure and function,[15] and are also highly sensitive to the recent effects of climate change.

In places such as the Sacramento Valley and Oxnard Plain in California, draining marshes and estuaries combined with supplemental irrigation has led to a century of intensive agriculture.

Much of the Overberg in the southern Cape of South Africa, was once covered with renosterveld, but has likewise been largely converted to agriculture, mainly for wheat.

[citation needed] The fynbos vegetation in the South-western Cape in South Africa is famed for its high floral diversity, and includes such plant types as members of the Restionaceae, Ericas (Heaths) and Proteas.

Csa climates are mainly found around the Mediterranean Sea, southern Australia, southwestern South Africa, sections of Central Asia, northern sections of Iran and Iraq, the interior of northern California west of the Sierra Nevada, along the Wasatch Front in Utah, and inland areas of southern Oregon west of the Cascade Mountains.

Csb climates are found in northwestern Iberian Peninsula (namely Galicia and the Norte region and west coast of Portugal), in coastal Northern California, in the Pacific Northwest (namely western Washington, western Oregon and southern portions of Vancouver Island in British Columbia),[23][24][25][26][27] in central Chile, in parts of southern Australia and in sections of southwestern South Africa.

[4] A few locations close to the south coast of England such as Weymouth and Portland just scrape into this climate classification due to very low rainfall in July.

[28] Rarer instances of this climate can be found in relatively small and isolated high altitude areas of the Andes in Northern Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Western Venezuela.

In North America, areas with Csc climate can be found in the Olympic, Cascade, Klamath, and Sierra Nevada ranges in Washington, Oregon and California.