Editing Climate (section)

==Climate classification{{anchor|Classification}}==
{{Main|Climate classification}}
[[File:Köppen-Geiger climate classification (1980-2016).png|alt=Map of world dividing climate zones, largely influenced by latitude. The zones, going from the equator upward (and downward) are Tropical, Dry, Moderate, Continental and Polar. There are subzones within these zones.|thumb|Worldwide [[Köppen climate classification]]s]]
Climate classifications are systems that categorize the world's climates. A climate classification may correlate closely with a [[biome]] classification, as climate is a major influence on life in a region. One of the most used is the [[Köppen climate classification]] scheme first developed in 1899.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F. |author6-link=Eric Franklin Wood |date=30 October 2018 |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |language=en |volume=5 |pages=180214 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214 |issn=2052-4463 |pmc=6207062 |pmid=30375988}}</ref>

There are several ways to classify climates into similar regimes. Originally, [[clime]]s were defined in [[Ancient Greece]] to describe the weather depending upon a location's latitude. Modern climate classification methods can be broadly divided into ''genetic'' methods, which focus on the causes of climate, and ''empiric'' methods, which focus on the effects of climate. Examples of genetic classification include methods based on the [[relative frequency]] of different [[air mass]] types or locations within [[Synoptic scale meteorology|synoptic]] weather disturbances. Examples of [[Empirical|empiric]] classifications include [[climate zone]]s defined by [[plant hardiness]],<ref>[[United States National Arboretum]]. [http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704232205/http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html|date=2012-07-04}} Retrieved on 2008-03-09</ref> evapotranspiration,<ref name="thorn">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Thornthwaite Moisture Index |encyclopedia=Glossary of Meteorology |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |url=http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?p=1&query=Thornthwaite&submit=Search |access-date=2008-05-21}}</ref> or more generally the [[Köppen climate classification]] which was originally designed to identify the climates associated with certain [[biome]]s. A common shortcoming of these [[classification scheme]]s is that they produce distinct boundaries between the zones they define, rather than the gradual transition of climate properties more common in nature.