The world has several climate zones. These are summarised on the map below.

World Climate Zones – Image courtesy of the UK Meteorological Office

The classification is based on maximum and minimum temperatures and the temperature range as well as the total and seasonal distribution of precipitation.

Simple summary of climatic zones:

Polar – very cold and dry all year
Temperate – cold winters and mmild summers
Arid – dry, hot all year
Tropical – hot and wet all year
Mediterranean – mild winters, dry hot summers
Mountains (tundra) very cold all year