Köppen, Thornthwaite and Camargo climate classifications for climatic zoning in the State of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate is the set of average atmospheric conditions that characterizes a region. It directly influences the majority of human activities, especially agriculture. Climate classification systems (CCSs) are important tools in the study of agriculture, enabling knowledge of the climatic characteristics of a region. Thus, we aimed to perform the climatic characterization of the State of Paraná using the methods proposed by Köppen and Geiger (1928), modified by Trewartha (1954) (KT), Thornthwaite (1948) (TH) and Camargo (1991) and modified by Maluf (2000) (CM), using data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) model. The results of spatial interpolation (virtual stations) were performed using the Kriging method in spherical shape with one neighbour and resolution of 0.25°. The CCSs displayed the ability to separate the warm and dry from cold and wet regions. The most predominant climates were Cfa (temperate humid with hot summers), C1rA'a' (sub-humid with little water deficiency, megathermal) and ST-UMi (humid subtropical with dry winter), according to KT, TH and CM, respectively. CM is an intermediate CCS between KT and TH.