In climatology, the term mesothermal is used to refer to certain forms of climate found typically in the Earth's Temperate Zones. Climatology is the science that studies climates and investigates their phenomena and causes. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... In geography, temperate latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. ...

The term is derived from two Greek words meaning "having a moderate amount of heat." This can be misleading, however, since the term is actually intended to describe only the temperature conditions that prevail during the winter months, rather than those for the year as a whole. Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ...

Under the broadest definition, all places with an average temperature in their coldest month that is colder than 18°C, but warmer than −3°C, are said to have a mesothermal climate. In some climate classification schemes, however, this is divided into two segments, with a coldest-month average of 6°C being the line of demarcation between them; then only those locations with a coldest-month temperature of between −3°C and 6°C are reckoned as mesothermal, the label "subtropical" being applied to areas where the average temperature in the coldest month ranges from 6°C to 18°C. Subtropical climate is the form of climate found immediately poleward of the zone of tropical climate. ...

Observing the narrower definition articulated above, the mesothermal locations are those where the winters are too cold to allow year-round photosynthesis, but not cold enough to support a fixed period of continuous snow cover every year. Leaf. ... A fresh snowfall in Colorados (USA) high forests. ...

Summers in these places may be hot (that is to say, having an average temperature in their warmest month of 22°C or above) or merely warm (with the warmest month averaging between 10°C and 22°C). The hot-summer, or continental, mesothermal climate is encountered exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere, in the landmass interiors of Asia and North America and along their east coasts, while the most frequently-seen example of a warm-summer mesothermal climate is the oceanic climates found along the west coasts of all of the world's continents, roughly equidistant between the geographical tropical and polar zones. Summer is a season, defined by convention in meteorology as the whole months of June, July and August in the Northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the Southern hemisphere. ... The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and population. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... An oceanic climate is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the worlds continents, and in southeastern Australia; similar climates are also found at high elevations within the tropics. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Earths polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles, north of the Arctic circle, or south of the Antarctic Circle. ...

In addition to being subdivisible by summer temperature, mesothermal climates can also be subclassified on the basis of precipitation — into humid, semiarid and arid subtypes. Humidity is the quantity of moisture in the air. ... The steppe of Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, steppe (from Slavic step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said... A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. ...

See also

Megathermal
Microthermal In climatology, the term megathermal (or less commonly, macrothermal) is sometimes used as a synonym for tropical. ... In climatology, the term microthermal is used to denote the continental climates of Eurasia and North America. ...