What a Csc climate is like
Csc Cold-summer Mediterranean. A rare climate with a dry summer, but cool enough that only one to three months rise above 10 °C. It mostly appears on mountain slopes.
The rules behind the code, in plain English:
- Temperate (coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C).
- Dry summer: the driest summer month gets under 40 mm and under a third of the wettest winter month.
- Cold summer: only one to three months are above 10 °C.
Dataset wording: "Temperate, dry summer, cold summer". In the maps of Beck et al. (2023) the class is written: C: Not B and Thot > 10 and 0 < Tcold < 18; s: Psdry < 40 and Psdry < Pwwet/3; c: Not (a or b) and 1 <= Tmon10 < 4.
Cold-summer Mediterranean climate is a rare one: dry summers that are short and cool, with winters that bring most of the year's rain and snow. It is found in small patches, usually in high mountains near Mediterranean-type regions. Trees are hardy conifers and shrubs, and the growing season is brief. People here dress warmly even in summer and build for snow.
How much of the world is Csc?
- 0%of the world's land outside Antarctica, 1991 to 2020
- 5,798 km²area, 1991 to 2020
- 0cities of 15,000 or more people (GeoNames) have this climate now
In 1901 to 1930 it covered less than 0.1% of that land, so its area then was 98.22% larger than in 1991 to 2020.
How the Csc area is projected to change by 2071 to 2099
These figures compare the area of Csc in each future map with 1991 to 2020. They come from the Beck et al. (2023) model projections under three emissions scenarios. They show what the scenarios imply, not what will happen.
| Map | Share of land | Change in area vs 1991 to 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 to 1930 (past) | less than 0.1% | +98.22% |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | 0% | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | 0% | -44.53% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | 0% | -60.5% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | 0% | -69.41% |
Shares are of land outside Antarctica. A negative change means the zone shrinks.
What happens to today's Csc land
Of the land that is Csc in 1991 to 2020, this is how much stays Csc and where the rest ends up in 2071 to 2099, by scenario:
| Scenario (2071 to 2099) | Stays Csc | Where the rest goes (biggest first) |
|---|---|---|
| SSP1-2.6, low emissions | 1.5% | Csb (64%), Cfb (17%), Dsb (5.9%), Cwb (5.4%), Cfc (4.4%) |
| SSP2-4.5, middle of the road | 0.2% | Csb (76%), Cfb (13%), Cwb (4.4%), Dsb (3.8%), Cfc (1.8%) |
| SSP5-8.5, high emissions | 0% | Csb (88%), Cfb (8.7%), Cwb (2.6%), BSk (0.7%) |
Looking back, 41% of today's Csc land was also Csc in 1901 to 1930. The rest was Dsc (33%), ET (15%), Csb (5.3%), Cfc (3.4%), Dsb (1.1%).
Where Csc is found
The countries with the most Csc land in 1991 to 2020:
| Country | Area | Share of all Csc | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2,927 km² | 50% | 0.1% |
| Chile | 1,229 km² | 21% | 0.2% |
| Falkland Islands | 13 km² | 0.2% | 0.1% |
Places with a Csc climate today
No city of 15,000 or more people in our place file sits in a Csc climate in 1991 to 2020, so there is no list here. Zoom the map to see where it is.
Other temperate climates (group C)
Frequently asked questions
What does Csc mean in the Köppen climate classification?
Temperate (coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C). Dry summer: the driest summer month gets under 40 mm and under a third of the wettest winter month. Cold summer: only one to three months are above 10 °C. The code is a short way of writing that: the first letter is the major group (C, temperate) and the letters after it say more about rain and temperature.
What is a cold-summer mediterranean climate like?
Dry summers, short and cool. A rare climate with a dry summer, but cool enough that only one to three months rise above 10 °C. It mostly appears on mountain slopes.
How much of the world has a Csc climate?
0% of the world's land outside Antarctica was Csc in 1991 to 2020, about 5,798 km² (Beck et al. 2023, 1 km maps).
Will the Csc climate zone grow or shrink?
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the area of Csc in 2071 to 2099 is 60.5% smaller than in 1991 to 2020. This is a model projection, not a forecast, and it differs under other scenarios (see the table on this page).
Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0. See data sources and licences. Köppen-Geiger classes describe long-term averages, not weather.