What exactly is climate? What's the difference between climate and weather? The Oxford Dictionary defines climate as the regular weather conditions of an area. Meanwhile weather is defined as the condition of atmosphere at a certain place and time, with reference to the presence or absence of sunshine, rain, wind, etc. There are a few reasons why there are many climates on Earth The Earth in the shape of a sphere. The equator in the point on Earth where it receives the most sunlight. Areas further away from it receive less sunlight. Therefore the Earth isn't heated equally. Some places on Earth are surrounded by oceans and bodies of water. Some are thousands of miles away from lakes, seas and oceans. These bodies of water help reduce the differences of temperature throughout the whole day. Ocean currents from different parts of Earth help bring cold or warm water to other places. For instance the well known Gulf Stream warms Northwest Europe a bit during winter. Here are a few examples of major climates: Tropical climates often occur near the equator. It rains a lot throughout the year, that is about 2500 mm a year. The average daily temperature is 26 ºC. This temperature is also constant throughout the whole year. This is because tropical areas are frequently surrounded by oceans and seas and is near the equator, which means more rain, more clouds and high humidity. Tropical rainforest Here the climate is more variable. It is cooler and it rains less. The average annual temperature is 27 ºC. Subtropical areas receive about 1000-2000 mm of rain every year. Arid climate areas are usually deserts. Here it doesn't rain much, not more than 250 mm of rain each year. The air is dry. Temperatures can reach 38 ºC on summer days. Night time temperatures fluctuate a lot. It can sometimes reach below 0 ºC. Semi arid desert This climate is named after the Mediterranean Sea, where this climate occurs. It occurs at areas around 30 ºN to 45 ºN or 30 ºS to 45 ºS. Summer in areas where Mediterranean climate occurs are short, dry and can be as warm as 29 ºC. Meanwhile its winters are humid, long and slightly milder. Rainfall can be as high as 800 mm. Temperate climates have warm, humid summers and cold winters. Up to 1500 mm of precipitation is gathered each year. It can snow in the winter in these areas. Temperatures here can be very cold. For every 100 m above sea level, the temperature drops by 0.6 ºC. It is often windy here. Air pressure here is very low. This climate occurs near the two poles, mainly after the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. These areas are covered by thick snow in the winter (November to March in the Arctic and May to August in the Antarctic). During winter, very little daylight is received, especially around the Winter Solstice (22 December in the Arctic and 21 June in the Antarctic). Temperatures can reach -4 ºC. Summer temperatures can be as high as 10 ºC. During the Winter Solstice, the Sun never rises. The opposite happens during the Summer Solstice (21 June in the Arctic and 22 December in the Antarctic), the Sun never sets. Annual precipitation is only 300 mm in the form of snow. Winds here are very fast, sometimes exceeding 200 km per hour.