Mediterranean Climate

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Geography Department

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Lesson Duration:

80 mins.

What should you expect from this lesson?

In this lesson we will identify the general position and locate on a world map areas which experience a Mediterranean type of climate. We will also describe the main characteristics of weather and interpret a climate graph of this type of climate.

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The temperate Mediterranean climate is not restricted only around the Mediterranean Sea but is also found in other areas around the world as we can observe in the map below. The areas marked in red on the map all experience a Mediterranean type of climate. These include the districts of Adelaide and Perth in Australia, central Chile, the southernmost point of Africa around Cape Town, and central California in the United States. These are all situated on the west side of continents between 30º and 45º north and south of the Equator.

The Mediterranean climate can be divided into two very different seasons. Summers are hot and dry while winters are cool and wet.
In summer the sun is never overhead as on the Equator, however, it is high enough to give hot weather. Moreover in summer the prevailing winds come from over the dry lands in the east bringing dry and hot weather.

Winter months are cooler since the sun is lower in the sky. However, it is still high enough to give warm and fine days. The sea bordering these regions has a great effect on the weather of these places.

The sea which warms up during summer, only loses its heat very slowly. The coastal areas are thus kept warm and therefore snow or ice is very rare. The winds now blow from the opposite direction, that is, from the oceans and these keep the temperatures warm and not cold as inland areas. These winds are humid and therefore they bring rainfall in winter.

In summer the long hours of sunshine raise the temperature to over 25ºC. The hot and dry weather are a gift for the tourist but a worry for the farmer since the fields dry up. Rarely does average temperature fall below 8ºC, therefore the growing season is all year round. Around the Mediterranean Sea the rainy season starts in September. This starts as short torrential showers. In between these showers there are usually many days of sunshine. Much rainfall comes with the warm and moist western winds from over the Atlantic Ocean. These cause relief  or orographic rain on the coastal mountain ranges as well as many depressions which bring rain as they move from west to east.

Farmers of the Mediterranean region grow very good quality vines for wine production. The vine is well adapted to this type of climate since it has long roots which tap water and does not need to be irrigated in the dry summer months. About 80% of all the vines grown in this region are dedicated to wine production. Moreover three quarters of all the world trade in citrus fruit, such as oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit, comes from this region. These fruits need the sun’s heat to mature and their thick skins help them remain fresh, moist and juicy.

In order to solve the problem of water shortage in summer, many countries have invested for the retention of surplus winter rainwater by building dams. In the photo below we can see the Shastra Dam in California. The water behind this dam is used not only to satisfy the needs of the city of Los Angeles, but also for irrigation during the summer months when rain is scarce.

The graph below show the climate of Athens, the capital of Greece. It is a Mediterranean type of climate with two different seasons. Weather in summer is hot and dry while in winter it is cool and rainy. The warmest months are June, July, August and September when the average temperature is 30ºC. At the same time there is little rain and the effect of drought is felt. Evaporation rate is high and farmers must resort to irrigation to grow any crops. In winter rainfall increases and at Athens it reaches 450 mm a year. November, December and January are most humid when normally there are days with heavy showers as well as some other sunny and fine days. It is important to note that the average annual rainfall varies greatly in different areas of the Mediterranean. For example Lisbon, situated on the Atlantic coast receives more than 760 mm of rain each year, while the western coast of Spain which lies in the shadow of the Meseta plateau gets less than half that much. In cities of the eastern Mediterranean such as Tripoli in Libya or Alexandria in Egypt rarely get 300 mm a year.

Before attempting the exercises before watch the following video which gives an overview of the climate experienced in Mediterranean regions.

Now work out the following activities.

• With the help of the graph below answer the following questions. If you forgot how to read and interpret a climate graph refer to the video below.

a. What is the average temperature in February?
b. What is the average temperature for August?
c. How much rain falls in December?
d. How much rain falls in in July?

e. Read the following paragraphs explaining each climate. Underline the correct answer from those in brackets.

The Mediterranean climate is (hot and dry/cold and wet/hot and wet) in summer. In winter it is rather (dry/wet). In summer prevailing winds blow from the (West/East) and bring hot weather. As a result of this, places with a Mediterranean type of climate experience (floods/drought/strong gale winds). In winter the prevailing winds come from the (West/East/South) and bring air that is (dry/moist). Very often in summer the temperature is higher than 25ºC and the yearly total rainfall reaches about (1800 mm/480 mm/900 mm).

f. On the outline map of the world mark and name all the countries which experience a Mediterranean type of climate namely the Mediterranean region, California, Central Chile, South Africa, South-west Australia and South Australia.

g. Write a paragraph to describe the seasonal pattern of the weather experienced in Mediterranean areas.

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