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Tundra climate

Polar climate sub-type

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Through Vapor pressure, Tundra and Iceland

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Despite the potential diversity of climates in the ET category involving precipitation, extreme temperatures, and relative wet and dry seasons, this category is rarely subdivided. Rainfall and snowfall are generally slight due to the low vapor pressure of water in the chilly atmosphere, but as a rule potential evapotranspiration is extremely low, allowing soggy terrain of swamps and bogs even in places that get precipitation typical of deserts of lower and middle latitudes. The amount of native tundra biomass depends more on the local temperature than the amount of precipitation.

Tundra climates are the second coldest Köppen climate type on Earth, though extreme subarctic climates (Dfd/Dwd/Dsd) can experience significantly colder winters. There is also an oceanic variety of the tundra climate with cool to mild winters (the coldest month averaging around 0°C) which borders the subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) and is found in parts of Iceland, the Aleutian Islands and most predominantly on subantarctic islands.

Climate charts

Places featuring a tundra climate

Alpine tundra
Polar tundra

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