What a Dsd climate is like
Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter. Exceptionally rare. Winters are among the coldest on Earth outside the polar regions.
The rules behind the code, in plain English:
- Cold (coldest month at or below 0 °C).
- Dry summer: the driest summer month gets under 40 mm and under a third of the wettest winter month.
- Very cold winter: the coldest month is below -38 °C.
Dataset wording: "Cold, dry summer, very cold winter". In the maps of Beck et al. (2023) the class is written: D: Not B and Thot > 10 and Tcold <= 0; s: Psdry < 40 and Psdry < Pwwet/3; d: Not (a or b) and Tcold < -38.
Subarctic climate with a dry summer and a very cold winter is extremely rare: bitter winters and a brief, dry summer. Few people live in these places, which are found in remote, high parts of the world. Only hardy conifers and shrubs grow, and the ground may be frozen for much of the year. Survival here means heavy insulation and very warm clothing.
How much of the world is Dsd?
- less than 0.1%of the world's land outside Antarctica, 1991 to 2020
- 12,664 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 480.5% larger than in 1991 to 2020.
How the Dsd area is projected to change by 2071 to 2099
These figures compare the area of Dsd 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% | +480.5% |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | less than 0.1% | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | 0% | -89.71% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | 0% | -99.27% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | 0% | -100% |
Shares are of land outside Antarctica. A negative change means the zone shrinks.
What happens to today's Dsd land
Of the land that is Dsd in 1991 to 2020, this is how much stays Dsd and where the rest ends up in 2071 to 2099, by scenario:
| Scenario (2071 to 2099) | Stays Dsd | Where the rest goes (biggest first) |
|---|---|---|
| SSP1-2.6, low emissions | 5% | Dsc (61%), Dfd (20%), Dfc (12%), Dsb (1.2%), Dwc (0.9%) |
| SSP2-4.5, middle of the road | 0.1% | Dsc (70%), Dsa (13%), Dfc (7.4%), Dsb (5.5%), Dfa (2.4%) |
| SSP5-8.5, high emissions | 0% | Dsc (68%), Dsa (28%), Dfa (2.2%), Dfc (1.3%) |
Looking back, 2.2% of today's Dsd land was also Dsd in 1901 to 1930. The rest was Dfd (76%), Dwd (22%).
Where Dsd is found
The countries with the most Dsd land in 1991 to 2020:
| Country | Area | Share of all Dsd | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 12,632 km² | 100% | less than 0.1% |
Places with a Dsd climate today
No city of 15,000 or more people in our place file sits in a Dsd climate in 1991 to 2020, so there is no list here. Zoom the map to see where it is.
Other cold (continental) climates (group D)
- Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
- Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
- Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
- Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
- Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
- Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
- Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
- Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
- Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
- Dfc Subarctic (boreal)
- Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter
- All 30 zones
Frequently asked questions
What does Dsd mean in the Köppen climate classification?
Cold (coldest month at or below 0 °C). Dry summer: the driest summer month gets under 40 mm and under a third of the wettest winter month. Very cold winter: the coldest month is below -38 °C. The code is a short way of writing that: the first letter is the major group (D, cold (continental)) and the letters after it say more about rain and temperature.
What is a subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter climate like?
Extremely cold winters and a dry, short summer. Exceptionally rare. Winters are among the coldest on Earth outside the polar regions.
How much of the world has a Dsd climate?
less than 0.1% of the world's land outside Antarctica was Dsd in 1991 to 2020, about 12,664 km² (Beck et al. 2023, 1 km maps).
Will the Dsd climate zone grow or shrink?
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the area of Dsd in 2071 to 2099 is 99.27% 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.