Tropical savanna climate

Most places that have this climate are found at the outer margins of the tropical zone, but occasionally an inner-tropical location (e.g., San Marcos, Antioquia, Colombia) also qualifies.

Similarly, the Caribbean coast, eastward from the Gulf of Urabá on the Colombia – Panamá border to the Orinoco river delta, on the Atlantic Ocean (ca.

4,000 km (2,485 mi)), have long dry periods (the extreme is the BSh climate (see below), characterized by very low, unreliable precipitation, present, for instance, in extensive areas in the Guajira, and Coro, western Venezuela, the northernmost peninsulas in South America, which receive <300 mm (11.8 in) total annual precipitation, practically all in two or three months).

The length and severity of the dry season diminishes inland (southward); at the latitude of the Amazon river—which flows eastward, just south of the equatorial line—the climate is Af.

East from the Andes, between the arid Caribbean and the ever-wet Amazon, are the Orinoco river Llanos or savannas, from where this climate takes its name.

This is typically due to a rain shadow effect that cuts off ITCZ-triggered summer precipitation in a tropical area while winter precipitation remains sufficient to preclude a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) and temperatures in the summer months are warm enough to preclude a Mediterranean climate (Csa/Csb) classification.

This is the case in parts of Hawaii, East Africa (Mombasa, Kenya, Somalia), Sri Lanka (Trincomalee) and coastal regions of Northeastern Brazil (from São Luís[2] through Natal to Maceió) and southeast India, for instance.