What Is a Climatogram?
A climatogram is graph chart that displays only the rainfall and temperature of a given area. A climatogram is a measure of the general climate of a large ecosystem, also known as a biome.
A climatogram is a bar graph with a double-Y axis that plots temperate and rainfall amounts over time. The climatogram provides a fast and simple method for comparing climates based on the two most influential factors: rainfall and temperature. Because many small climates overlap and affect one another, scientists use these graphs to describe climates on a larger scale by using the average temperature and average rainfall amounts for each month. While many other factors contribute to the overall climate of a particular biome, climatograms are simple to create and reveal long-term climate trends in an easy to understand manner.
Climatograms are also indicators of what types of plant and animal life are suited to a given biome. Areas with more moisture tend to support forests with a diversity of life, while dry areas tend to support less flora, resulting in many specialized species of plants and animals. Some of the major biomes classified by climatograms include, deserts, forests, grasslands and tundra. These biomes have readily identifiable climatograms that reflect the characteristic precipitation amounts and temperatures of each one.
