According to the Köppen climatic classification, the letter code Cfa denotes
- (a)Tropical wet climate
- (b)Humid subtropical climate
- (c)Tundra climate
- (d)Tropical wet and dry climate
Correct — B, humid subtropical climate. In the Köppen system each letter is a code: the first capital letter fixes the broad temperature group, the second (small) letter describes precipitation, and the third gives a summer/temperature detail. In 'Cfa', C = warm temperate (mild mid-latitude, coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C), f = no dry season ('feucht', rain in all months), and a = hot summer (warmest month above 22 °C). A C-climate with year-round rain and a hot summer is the humid subtropical (China) type — the south-eastern continental margins of the USA, China, northern Argentina and eastern Australia.
- (a)Tropical wet climate — That is Köppen Af — the first letter A marks the tropical group, an equatorial rainforest climate, not the warm-temperate C of Cfa.
- (c)Tundra climate — Tundra is ET — the E group is polar (warmest month between 0 and 10 °C); its code begins with E, not C.
- (d)Tropical wet and dry climate — That is Aw — A for tropical, w for a dry winter — the savanna climate; again an A-group code, not Cfa.
The Köppen scheme classifies climates with letters. The first, a capital, is the temperature group: A tropical, B dry, C warm temperate, D cold, E polar. The following small letters describe the precipitation regime and the warmth of summer. Cfa therefore reads C-warm temperate, f-no dry season, a-hot summer — the humid subtropical type.
Decode the code letter by letter. C fixes it as a mild mid-latitude climate, ruling out the tropical A and polar E options; f means rain in every month; a means a hot summer. That combination is the humid subtropical (China-type) climate.
- In Köppen codes the first letter is the temperature group: A tropical, B dry, C warm temperate, D cold, E polar.
- The small 'f' (German feucht, 'moist') means no dry season — precipitation in every month.
- 'a' denotes a hot summer, with the warmest month above 22 °C.
- Cfa = humid subtropical, found on the south-eastern margins of continents (SE USA, S China, NE Argentina, E Australia).
Read Köppen codes left to right: temperature group, then precipitation, then summer heat.
- Confusing Cfa (hot summer) with Cfb (warm summer, the marine west-coast climate).
- Reading only the first letter and ignoring the small letters that fix precipitation and summer heat.
Given a Köppen code, name the climate — decode the letters in order (temperature group → precipitation → summer heat).
Consider the following description: 1. Annual and daily range of temperatures is low. 2. Precipitation occurs throughout the year. 3. Precipitation varies between 50 cm and 250 cm. Which one of the following climates is described by the above?
- (a) Equatorial climate
- (b) China type climate
- (c) Humid subtropical climate
- (d) Marine West coast climate
Answer(d) Marine West coast climate
Same skill — identifying a climate type from its defining features, with the humid-subtropical / China type among the choices. UPSC works from a description to the climate; this NDA item works from the Köppen code Cfa to the same family of warm-temperate climates.
Humid Subtropical Climate is NOT experienced in which one among the following regions?
- (a) Coastal South Africa
- (b) East coast of Australia
- (c) South Japan
- (d) South Argentina
Answer(d) South Argentina
Directly about the humid subtropical (Cfa) climate — its distribution on south-eastern continental margins. That NDA item tests where it occurs; this one tests the Köppen code that names it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Köppen system, the small letter 'f' in codes such as Cfa and Cfb indicates
- (a)a hot summer
- (b)no dry season (rain in all months)
- (c)a dry winter
- (d)a polar climate
Answer(b) no dry season — 'f' comes from the German feucht, meaning precipitation falls in every month.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Köppen code for a tropical savanna (wet-and-dry) climate is
- (a)Af
- (b)Aw
- (c)Cfa
- (d)BWh
Answer(b) Aw — A for the tropical group and w for a dry winter.