Climate Responsive Architecture
ARCH 103
Credit: 2 Credit Hours
Course Teacher
Esrat Jahan Nishi
Department of Architecture
Daffodil International University
EQUATORIAL CLIMATE
• An equatorial climate is marked by hot and moist
equatorial air masses.
• Air temperature is constant (+24–28 °C)
• There is much rain throughout the year (from 1500
to 5000 mm). Rain falls faster than water can
evaporate from the ground, so the soil in an
equatorial climate is waterlogged and covered by a
dense and high rainforest.
• An equatorial climate is found in northern parts of
South America, the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, in
the Congo river basin and the headwaters of the
Nile in Africa, over the greater part of the
Indonesian archipelago and the adjacent parts of
the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Asia.
SUB-EQUATORIAL CLIMATE
• A sub-equatorial climate is marked by a rainy
season in the summer, followed by a cool and dry
season in the winter.
• Rainfall in a sub-equatorial climate is very uneven
through the year.
• For example, in the city of Conakry (the capital of
Guinea), there is just 15 mm of rain in December-
March, but 3920 mm from June to September.
• This type of climate is found in some parts of the
Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, as well as
in South Asia and tropical regions of Africa and
South America.
TROPICAL CLIMATE
• A tropical climate is dominated by anticyclones
with high pressure, giving clear weather nearly
all the year round.
• There are two seasons: warm and cold.
Temperatures can vary from +20 °C on the coast
to +50 °C in the interior.
• The temperature can also vary greatly within a
single day: on a summer afternoon the air heats
up to +40–45 °C, but it cools down at night to
+10–15 °C.
• Deserts are often found in tropical climates, and
the largest of them is the Sahara Desert in
Africa. Deciduous forests (forests that lose their
leaves in the winter) and savannas are common
in wetter regions.
SUB-TROPICAL CLIMATE
• A sub-tropical climate is found in regions
between tropical and temperate latitudes,
from about 30 to 45 degrees north and south
of the equator.
• These regions are marked by hot, tropical
summers and fairly cool winters.
• The average monthly temperature in summer
is above +22 °C and in winter above -3 °C,
but the arrival of air from polar regions in
winter time may cause temperatures to drop
as low as -10 to -15 °C.
• This type of climate is typical for the
Mediterranean, South Africa, Southwestern
Australia and Northwestern California.
TEMPERATE CLIMATE
• A temperate climate is found in so-called
temperate latitudes (from 40–45 degrees north
and south of the equator as far as the polar
circles).
• In the Northern Hemisphere more than half of the
temperate zone is occupied by land rather than
sea. But 98% of the temperate zone in the
Southern Hemisphere consists of ocean.
• The main feature of a temperate climate is the
division of the year into four seasons, of which
one is cold (winter), one is warm (summer) and
the other two (spring and autumn) are
transitional.
• The average temperature in the coldest month is
usually below 0 °C, and in the warmest month it
is above +15 °C. The ground is covered by snow
in the winter. Prevailing westerly winds bring rain
and snow throughout the year, with rainfall and
SUB-POLAR (SUB-ARCTIC, SUB-ANTARCTIC)
• A sub-arctic climate is found between Arctic
temperate climate zones in the Northern
Hemisphere. This climate is marked by air masses at
moderate temperature in the summer and cold air
masses from the Arctic in the winter.
• The summers are short and chilly, with air
temperature in July rarely above +15 °C by day and
dropping to between 0 and + 3 °C at night, and a
chance of frosty nights through the summer. In
winter the temperature by day and night is -35–45
°C.
• The landscape in a sub-arctic climate consists of
tundra and forest tundra, the soil is marked by
permafrost, and there are few plants and animals.
The north of Russia and Canada, Alaska (USA), South
Greenland and the far north of Europe have a sub-
arctic climate.
• A sub-antarctic climate is found in the Southern
POLAR CLIMATE
• A polar climate is found to the north of 70 degrees
latitude in the Northern Hemisphere (Arctic climate)
and to the south of 65 degrees latitude in the
Southern Hemisphere (Antarctic climate).
• Polar air masses are dominant all the year round.
• The sun does not appear above the horizon for
several months (this period is called the ‘polar
night’) and during some other months it does not set
beyond the horizon (‘midnight sun’ or ‘polar day’).
• Snow and ice reflect more heat than they absorb, so
the air is very cold and the snow never melts.
• Atmospheric pressure is high all the year round, so
winds are weak and there are almost no clouds.
• There is very little snowfall, the air is full of small icy
needles and a water haze often occurs in the
summer. The average temperature in summer is
below 0 °C, and in winter it is between -20 and -40
°C.
