(a)(i) Name the three climatic belts recognised by the Greek system of classification (ii) What is the basis of this classification? (b) State one character...

Answer Details

(a)(i) The three climatic belts of the Greek system

1. The Torrid Zone (hot/tropical belt).
2. The Temperate Zones (warm to cool belts, north and south).
3. The Frigid Zones (cold/polar belts, north and south).

(a)(ii) Basis of the classification

The Greek classification is based on latitude and the amount of heat (temperature) received from the sun. The belts are bounded by the tropics and the polar circles according to the angle of the sun's rays.

(b) One characteristic of each belt

1. Torrid Zone: lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and is hot throughout the year with the sun overhead at some time.
2. Temperate Zone: lies between the tropics and the polar circles and has moderate temperatures with distinct warm and cool seasons.
3. Frigid Zone: lies between the polar circles and the poles and is very cold throughout the year with long, dark winters.

(c) Three advantages of Koppen's classification over the Greek system

1. Koppen uses both temperature and rainfall, whereas the Greek system uses temperature (latitude) alone, so Koppen gives a fuller picture of climate.
2. Koppen's boundaries are based on natural vegetation, so the climatic regions correspond to real plant and crop distributions on the ground.
3. Koppen's classification is more detailed and precise, recognising many climatic types with defined values, rather than only three broad zones fixed by latitude.