Hi, I haven't posted for a long time, but I've recently been making another attempt at a semi-realistic climate map. I am following Azelor's tutorial "by hand" (no scripts), and the map here is just a rough draft for now as I fine tune it.
I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable members here could help me with a few climate questions. I have marked the areas I have questions about on the map with numbers. I have also marked the Jan/July ITCZ and relevant currents (blue=cold current, red = warm current).
Screenshot 2022-02-20 at 18.31.53.png
Some questions:
1) The eastern continent only has a small tropical landmass, surrounded by a large body of ocean in tropics, so I have assumed the summer winds don't converge quite as far north as they do in Asia. I could be wrong though? Perhaps the July ITCZ should remain more northern across the ocean as it leaves the central continent, then extending to ~30N in the eastern continent? This would give this continent a more monsoon-influenced climate.
2) I am quite unsure about the general climate of the "long narrow" landmass of the central continent. It is largely within the subtropical ridge (20-40N). It receives a warm current on its southern side, and a cold (polar) current on its northern side. During winter, the Westerlies' influence is quite strong reaching about 30N, giving a band of Mediterranean-like climate as the Westerlies retreat northwards in summer. However: I am unsure whether it should be this dry overall: I have no idea where the winds would be blowing on the landmass in most of this region. Below 20N to the equator, the trade winds would be quite stable as the ITCZ remains around the equator here year-round. I think the land wouldn't develop any strong high or low pressure zones either. Perhaps the southern warm-current and northern cold-current would have a strong effect I haven't accounted for?
3) I have given the eastern half of "long-narrow" a fully-humid subtropical climate, as it receives poleward winds from the high-pressure zone to the east, similar to North America's east coast or China. It borders a patch of Mediterranean climate, as I think there would be a small high-pressure centre to the north in summer (due to the cold current meeting the hot land), but this might be unrealistic?
4) In the tropical centre of the continent, I expect that the northern half will be overall drier, as the winds mostly blow overland from the north to the ITCZ. The winds coming from the south might be wetter, as they cross more ocean. Around 10N to the west, there is a kind of "reverse-Somalia" – I thought the winds here blow parallel to the coast, coming overland through a desert, so there is little precipitation. Perhaps the warm winds would actually blow more onshore (eastwards) here, and warm current could make this area (10-20N) wetter? (I find that these little details are what make climate so interesting.)
5) In the South-Eastern part of the main continent, I have given it a large "winter dry" subtropical climate. In winter, I imagine most of the winds will be blowing offshore towards the ITCZ in the north. Perhaps the far-eastern coast should be "fully-humid" (like China), where the high-pressure meets wet air from the ocean even in winter?
6) I'm unsure if I've properly factored in how the "triangle-shaped" body of water would affect climate here? I imagine there'd more or less be a semi-permanent high due to the cold current, so I've made both sides quite arid.
Any advice much appreciated. Thank you!