World map showing the oceanic climate zones.
An 'oceanic climate' (also called 'marine west coast climate' and 'maritime climate') is the
climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern
Australia. Similar climates are also found at coastal tropical highlands and tropical coasts on leeward sides of mountain ranges. Generally, they fall into
Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'' or ''Cwb''. Winters are relatively warm while the summers are relatively cool. Oceanic climates are characterized by a narrower annual range of
temperatures than are encountered in other places at a comparable latitude, and do not have the extremely dry summers of
Mediterranean climates.
Precipitation
Precipitation is both adequate and reliable at all times of the year in oceanic climates, except in certain tropical highland areas, which would have tropical
savanna climates (with a dry season in winter) if not for the high altitude making them cooler (Koppen ''cwb''). The
Pacific Northwest and south-central
Chile is often considered as having an Oceanic climate, although the dry summers in parts of this area actually fit the
Mediterranean climate (Koppen ''csb'').
Temperature
Overall
temperature characteristics vary among oceanic climates; those at the lowest latitudes are
subtropical from a thermal standpoint, but more commonly a
mesothermal regime prevails, with cool, but not cold, winters and warm, but not hot, summers. Summers are also generally much cooler than in areas with a
humid subtropical climate. Average temperature of warmest month must be less than 22 degrees Celsius, and that of the coldest month warmer than -3 degrees (Although American scientists prefer 0 in the coldest month). Poleward of the latter is a zone of 'subpolar oceanic' climate (Köppen ''Cfc''), with relatively mild winters (coldest month warmer than -3) and cool summers and a summer season (average temperature at least 10°C or 50°F) of less than four months; examples of this climate include parts of coastal
Iceland in the
Northern Hemisphere and extreme southern
Chile in the
Southern Hemisphere (the fact that this form of climate exists in both hemispheres ruling out the use of such terms as
subarctic or
boreal to denote it; even though these terms are used to refer to climates characterized by short summers, they are also synonyms for "northern" and therefore inappropriate).
Additional information
The
British Isles experiences a typically maritime climate, with prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean. The annual average temperature range in the
UK is only about 10°C. Although the west coast of
Alaska experiences a maritime climate, the absence of an equally significant warm Pacific current in the upper-mid latitudes means that these regions are generally colder in winter, with more precipitation falling as snow.
All mid-latitude oceanic climates are classified as
humid. Some rainshadow climates with thermal régimes similar to those of oceanic climates but
steppe-like (BSk) or even
desert-like (BWk) scarcity of precipitation include lowland valleys of
Washington and
Oregon to the east of the
Cascade Range,
Patagonia in southern
Argentina, and, most notably, the Atacama desert in northern Chile, parts of which haven't seen rain for hundreds of years. Another example are coastal areas in southeast
Western Australia.
Countries/Regions with mild maritime climate
★ Northern and southwest
France
★ The
Netherlands
★
Belgium
★ Western
Germany
★ Western
Switzerland (Lowland areas)
★ Northern
Portugal (''as csb'')
★ Northwest
Spain (often as ''csb'')
★
Andorra
★ Southwest
Norway
★ Parts of
Denmark
★
Ireland
★
Great Britain
★
New Zealand
★
Tasmania,
Australia
★ Southern parts of
Victoria and
New South wales,
Australia
★ Coastal areas of southwestern
South Australia,
Australia (as ''csb'')
★ Western areas of the south coast of
Western Australia
★ Central
Argentina
★ South-central
Chile (''as csb'')
★ Western parts of
Oregon,
Washington, and
British Columbia (as ''csb''; ''cfb'' in most of British Columbia)
★ Northwest
California (as ''csb'')
★ Mountainous locations in some tropical countries (e.g.
Indian subcontinent,
Latin America, southern and central
Africa; often as ''cwb'')
★ Some mountainous areas across
southern Europe
★
Himilayas
The 0°C (32°F) isotherm (freeze line) or the -3°C (26.6°F) isotherms (persistent snow line) are the possible lines dividing the oceanic and the humid continental climates, in between which are the following regions:
★ Eastern
Germany
★
Luxembourg
★
Liechtenstein
★ Western
Poland
★ Eastern
Switzerland and parts of
Austria
★
Italian Alps (between 700 and 1000 meters)
★ Southern
Sweden
★ Fjord areas inland from the coast of southwest
Norway and parts of the southeast coast of
Norway
★ Much of
Denmark
★ Southern coastal areas of the
Alaskan Panhandle
★ Most of the
Czech Republic
★ Parts of western
Slovakia
★ Northwest
Romania
★ Most of
Hungary
★
Slovenia
★ Parts of
Bosnia-Herzegovina
★ Mountainous areas across
southern Europe
★
Himilayas
★ Some southern coastal areas of
New England
Notable cities with oceanic climates
Notable cities which have oceanic climates include:
Africa
★
Port Elizabeth,
South Africa
★
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 'cwb'
★
Tristan da Cunha
★
Nairobi,
Kenya 'cwb'
Europe
★
Amsterdam, Netherlands
★
Bergen, Norway
★
Berlin, Germany
★
Bordeaux, France
★
Bratislava, Slovakia
★
Brussels, Belgium
★
Campobasso, Italy
★
Cardiff, Wales
★
Copenhagen, Denmark
★
Dublin, Ireland
★
Geneva, Switzerland
★
Glasgow, Scotland
★
Gothenburg, Sweden
★
Grenoble, France
★
Hamburg, Germany
★
London, England
★
Ljubljana, Slovenia
★
Oporto, Portugal 'csb'
★
Manchester
★
Paris, France
★
Prague, Czech Republic
★
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
★
Vienna, Austria
★
Vigo, Spain 'csb'
★
Wroclaw, Poland
North America
★
Portland, Oregon,
USA 'csb'
★
Prince Rupert, British Columbia,
Canada
★
Seattle, Washington,
USA 'csb'
★
Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada
★
Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada 'csb'
Central America
★
Guatemala City, Guatemala 'cwb'
★
Mexico City, Mexico 'cwb'
Oceania
★
Auckland, New Zealand
★
Christchurch, New Zealand
★
Dunedin, New Zealand
★
Hobart, Australia
★
Invercargill, New Zealand
★
Wellington, New Zealand
★
Melbourne, Australia
★
Canberra, Australia
South America
★
Bogotá, Colombia
★
Castro, Chile
★
Mar del Plata, Argentina
★
Puerto Montt, Chile
★
Valdivia, Chile 'csb'
★
Quito, Ecuador
★
Sucre, Bolivia 'cwb'
Asia
★
Thimphu, Bhutan 'cwb'
Exceptions and borderline cases
San Francisco and
Oporto have a temperature range characteristic of an oceanic climate but so little rainfall during summer that they must be considered part of a Mediterranean climate zone, despite their summers and winters being almost the same temperature.
Countries/Regions with subpolar oceanic climate
★ Parts of coastal
Iceland
★
Faroe Islands
★ Northwestern coastal areas of
Norway reaching to 70°N on some islands
★ Southern islands of
Alaska and parts of the
Alaskan Panhandle
★ Far south of
Chile and
Argentina
★ Parts of the
Andes and
Himilaya (as ''cwc'')
★ Mountainous areas of
Europe, including highlands in
Britain, southwestern
Norway
Some notable cities with the subpolar ''Cfc'' climate are:
★
Dutch Harbor,
Alaska
★
Harstad,
Norway
★
Vestmannaeyjar,
Iceland
★
Thorshavn,
Faroe Islands
★
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego,
Argentina
★
La Paz,
Bolivia 'cwc'
Examples
Southern hemisphere
See also
★
Continental climate
★
Mediterranean climate
★
Polar climate.
External links
★
EPIC Data Collection On-line ocean observational data collection
★
NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer Plot and download ocean observations
★ http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Climate/Older/Maritime_Climate.html
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