What a EF climate is like
EF Ice cap (frost). Every month is at or below freezing. Ice sheets, glaciers and the highest mountain tops.
The rules behind the code, in plain English:
- Polar (warmest month no warmer than 10 °C).
- Frost: the warmest month is at or below 0 °C.
Dataset wording: "Polar, frost". In the maps of Beck et al. (2023) the class is written: E: Not B and Thot <= 10; F: Thot <= 0.
Ice cap climate is frozen all year, with no month warm enough to melt the ice. Snow and ice cover the ground, winds are fierce and plants cannot grow. No one lives here permanently apart from small research stations. Survival depends on heavy insulation, shelter and careful planning.
How much of the world is EF?
- 1.3%of the world's land outside Antarctica, 1991 to 2020
- 1,761,720 km²area, 1991 to 2020
- 0cities of 15,000 or more people (GeoNames) have this climate now
In 1901 to 1930 it covered 1.4% of that land, so its area then was 7.32% larger than in 1991 to 2020.
How the EF area is projected to change by 2071 to 2099
These figures compare the area of EF 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) | 1.4% | +7.32% |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | 1.3% | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | 1.2% | -7.49% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | 1.1% | -13.41% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | 1% | -24.59% |
Shares are of land outside Antarctica. A negative change means the zone shrinks.
What happens to today's EF land
Of the land that is EF in 1991 to 2020, this is how much stays EF and where the rest ends up in 2071 to 2099, by scenario:
| Scenario (2071 to 2099) | Stays EF | Where the rest goes (biggest first) |
|---|---|---|
| SSP1-2.6, low emissions | 92% | ET (7.8%) |
| SSP2-4.5, middle of the road | 87% | ET (14%) |
| SSP5-8.5, high emissions | 75% | ET (25%) |
Looking back, 100% of today's EF land was also EF in 1901 to 1930. The rest was .
Where EF is found
The countries with the most EF land in 1991 to 2020:
| Country | Area | Share of all EF | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctica | 12,209,414 km² | 87% | 100% |
| Greenland | 1,579,332 km² | 11% | 76% |
| Canada | 86,075 km² | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Russia | 31,792 km² | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| China | 23,013 km² | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| United States | 4,784 km² | less than 0.1% | less than 0.1% |
| Pakistan | 3,432 km² | less than 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Argentina | 3,253 km² | less than 0.1% | 0.1% |
Places with a EF climate today
No city of 15,000 or more people in our place file sits in a EF climate in 1991 to 2020, so there is no list here. Zoom the map to see where it is.
Other polar climates (group E)
Frequently asked questions
What does EF mean in the Köppen climate classification?
Polar (warmest month no warmer than 10 °C). Frost: the warmest month is at or below 0 °C. The code is a short way of writing that: the first letter is the major group (E, polar) and the letters after it say more about rain and temperature.
What is a ice cap (frost) climate like?
Frozen all year. Every month is at or below freezing. Ice sheets, glaciers and the highest mountain tops.
How much of the world has a EF climate?
1.3% of the world's land outside Antarctica was EF in 1991 to 2020, about 1,761,720 km² (Beck et al. 2023, 1 km maps).
Will the EF climate zone grow or shrink?
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the area of EF in 2071 to 2099 is 13.41% 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.