Tropical Climate Facts
Ah, we think of tropical climates and dream of gorgeous white beaches, playing in the sea and sand with nice warm weather.
Well you’re right to think of them in this way, but there’s way more to tropical climates than we think.
Where are Tropical Climates found?
They are mostly found in areas that lie close to the equator. Here the sun shines, nice and strong. It can get very, very hot. There are actually three different types of tropical climates, let’s dive in and take a look at what they are.
Types of Tropical Climates
There are actually three different types of tropical climates, and here they are.
Tropical Wet
These are also known as rainforests, just like the world famous Amazon Rainforest. Here you pretty much know exactly what the weather is going to be up to, every day is pretty much the same. Lots of rain, warm nights and hot days. The seasons hardly change at all.
Tropical Wet and Dry
These areas have three seasons. Wow, unlike our four seasons. One season is cool and dry, the next is hot and dry and the last season is wet and hot. Sometimes there is hardly any rain here, which sometimes means not enough water and food for people and animals.
Tropical Monsoon
This tropical climate amazingly has winds that change direction every six months. Let’s take India as an example; they live in a tropical monsoon area. During the summer, the winds blow in from the sea and this brings absolutely heaps of rain.
Then as if by magic, the winds turn around and blow from the land to the sea in winter. Because of this change, they’ll have a very dry winter. In these areas, people rely on monsoons in the summer to bring rain for their crops, but sometimes these monsoons can be really strong, which means there could be floods and mudslides.
Cool facts about Tropical Climates
Ever wanted to visit Hawaii, or have you already? Well they actually have a tropical rainforest climate. Head out and look for that rainforest to explore.
The monsoon climates that we spoke about earlier are found in Southern Asia and West Africa.
Have you ever heard about Africa’s Serengeti Plain? Well there are heaps of animals here, and it’s a wet dry tropical climate.
If you look at the tropical rainforest climate it sounds pretty cool don’t you think? Nice and warm, a bit of rain to cool you down, perfect!
Well, if you actually go there you will get very hot as it’s so humid and you will have plenty of bugs and mosquitoes to harass you. Hmmmm, maybe it doesn’t sound so good after all!
In India, the monsoon rains aren’t just for watering crops, but they power up those big electric plants. If there’s hardly any rain, then the crops suffer, but electricity becomes hugely expensive too!
So there it is tropical climates in all their glory. Now you know when you’re going on holiday next, which climate to choose!
Words to know
Mudslides – this is where sheets of mud slide down a hill.
Humid – where it is very wet, moist and extremely hot.