China type Climate – Warm Temperate Eastern Margin

by Devender

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This type of climate is found just outside the tropics on the eastern margin of the continent in warm temperate latitudes. It has more rainfall than the Mediterranean climate in the same latitudes. The rainfall is received mainly in the summers.

China type Climate – Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate

The Eastern margin climate can be further divided into 3 types:

China Type - Temperate monsoonal (Central & North China including southern Japan)
Gulf Type - Southeastern US bordering Gulf of Mexico (Slight monsoonal)
Natal Type - Natal (Africa), South Wales (Australia), Parana (Southern Brazil), Paraguay, Uruguay, and Northern Argentina (South America)

This type of climate has a warm, moist summer and a cool, dry winter which is strongly modified by the maritime influence. Occasionally, the temperature is brought to the freezing point by the penetration of cold air from the continental interiors. However, the temperature is warm the rest of the time.

The rainfall is from 75 to 150 cm
It is fairly distributed throughout the year
There are no dry months except the interiors of central China
In summers, the rain comes as convection or orographic
In winters, the rain comes from depressions

1 China Type climate:

Great pressure changes between summers and winters are induced by the great landmass of the Asiatic interior and the Pacific Ocean. It gives rise to a temperate monsoonal type of climate.

In summers, a region of low pressure is set up due to intense heating of the Asiatic interior. The tropical pacific Airstream is drawn in as the rain-bearing South-East Monsoon. It results in heavy precipitation in China.

There is approx. 100 cm of rainfall per annum
It decreases landwards with a summer maximum in June & July

In winters, between the cold interiors of Mongolia and Siberia and a warmer Pacific coastland, a steep pressure gradient is set up. It results in the North West monsoon which occurs due to the outward flow of continental polar air.

It is very cold and dry
It causes a little rain but considerate snow as the cold winds are warmed and moistened

The other characteristic features of this type of climate are:

Great annual temperature range
Occurrence of typhoons originating from the Pacific Ocean
These typhoons move westward to the coastlands, bordering the South China Sea

2 Gulf Type climate:

The Gulf-Atlantic regions of the US experience a type of climate which is very similar to the central China climate. The difference is that the monsoonal characteristics are less well established. The pressure gradient between mainland America and the Atlantic Ocean is less marked.

Complete reversal of winds is not present
Heavy annual rainfall with an average of 100 to 150 cm annually
There is no distinctive dry period

However, the tendency of the dry period is maximum towards the summer because of the onshore trade winds that swing landward from the Atlantic. The amount of rain gets increased by thunderstorms in summers and hurricanes by Sept and October. However, some places show a secondary maximum in winters.

The annual range of temperature is much less compared to China type of climate
Due to intense heating of the land, violent tornadoes do occur sometimes

3 Natal Type climate:

Due to the narrowness of the continents & the dominance of maritime influence, the monsoonal elements get eliminated. It characterizes the corresponding climates of the N-hemisphere.

The Southeast trade winds bring even distribution of rainfall throughout the year
The mean annual rainfall is 100 to 150 cm
The annual temperature range is small and doesn't have any really cold months

There is a slight autumn-winter maximum from March to July because of the passage depressions along the southern edges of warm temperate eastern margins. The southern continents have local storms such as – Southerly buster (violent cold wind) in South Wales, cold winds in Argentina, Pampero in Uruguay and Berg (A hot, dry wind) in southeast Africa.

Natural Vegetation:

The eastern margin of the warm temperate latitudes has very luxuriant vegetation because they receive much more rainfall than the Western margin or the continental interiors. The lowlands are quite similar to the tropical monsoon forests and have both evergreen broad leave forests and deciduous trees.

On the highlands, various species of conifers such as pines & cypresses are present
They act as important softwood
The dry season or the cold season doesn't affect the perennial plant growth

The rainfall is well distributed all over the year. Hence, the conditions are well suited for a rich variety of plant life including grass, ferns, lianas, bamboos, palms, and forests.

The warm temperate eastern margins are home to a number of valuable timber and economically viable species which are-

Eucalyptus	Australia (Exporter)
Parana Pine, Quebracho (Axebreaker)	SE Brazil, E Paraguay, N Argentina
Leaves of Yerba Mate Trees	Paraguay Tea
Chestnuts, Ironwoods and Blackwoods	Highlands of Natal
Palm trees	Coastal areas of Natal
Oak, Camphor, Camelia and Magnolia	China and Southern Japan

Agricultural Developments:

These regions are the most productive parts of the middle latitudes because of adequate rainfall, the absence of prolonged drought, and the cold season is warm enough for most of the crops to survive. Summer is the busiest part of the farming year.

China	Rice, Tea and Mulberries (for feeding silkworms for sericulture)
Gulf (N America)	Corn, Cotton, Tobacco
Natal (S America)	Cane sugar, Cotton & Tobacco
South America	Coffee, Maize, Pines, Paraguay Tea, Wheat, Cattle & Sheep
South Wales and Victoria	Dairying (Milk, Butter, Cheese), Cotton, Cane Sugar, Maize

China is the greatest rice-producing country in the world but despite that, it doesn't export and even import food grains. Because of the intense population of China, it grows rice and tea only for subsistence purposes.

Corn:

Corn is very easy to cultivate with respect to soil, climate, and labor. One of the most outstanding features of corn is its prolific yield, it gives twice as much food per acre compared to wheat and other cereals.

Out of total corn production in the world, around 50% is accounted for by the USA
However, the USA only 3% of its total corn production
Most of the corn in the USA is used in fattening animals
It is done to hog the corn down in the fields
The animals fattening is done for monetary gain as these animals are sold to meat plants