Köppen-Geiger climate classification
Clasificación climática de Köppen-Geiger
- Date
- 1884 · confidence high
- Place
- Hamburg, Germany
- Credited to
- Wladimir Köppen (revised by Rudolf Geiger)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Köppen classified the Earth's climates into types based on temperature and precipitation, linking them to natural vegetation; Geiger revised and popularized the system in the 20th century. It is the most widely used climate scheme in geography and ecology.
Köppen published a first version in 1884 and the definitive one in 1900 and 1918; Rudolf Geiger continued revising it until the mid-20th century.
What it led to
- Standardized world climate mapping
- A basis for biome and vegetation models
- International climate comparison in agriculture and ecology