Semi-arid climate

A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-arid climates, depending on variables such as temperature, and they give rise to different biomes.

Regions with semi-arid climates

  BSh

  BSk

Defining attributes of semi-arid climates

A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification, which treats steppe climates (BSh and BSk) as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates (A, C, D) in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short, thorny or scrubby vegetation and are usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs as they usually cannot support forests.

Sahel region of Mali.

To determine if a location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. The method used to find the precipitation threshold (in millimeters):

• multiply by 20 the average annual temperature in degrees Celsius and then
  • add 280 if at least 70% of the total precipitation falls in the summer half of the year (April–September in the northern hemisphere, October–March in the southern hemisphere)
  • add 140 if 30–70% of the total precipitation falls in the summer half of the year
  • add nothing if less than 30% of the total precipitation falls in the summer half of the year

If the area's annual precipitation in millimeters is less than the threshold but more than half or 50% the threshold, it is classified as a BS (steppe, semi-desert, or semi-arid climate).

Furthermore, to delineate hot semi-arid climates from cold semi-arid climates, a mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm. A location with a BS-type climate is classified as hot semi-arid (BSh) if its mean temperature is above this isotherm, and cold semi-arid (BSk) if not.

Hot semi-arid climates

"BSh" redirects here. For other uses, see BSH.

Regions with hot semi-arid climates

Semi-arid climate in Queensland, Australia.

Hot semi-arid climates (type "BSh") tend to be located from the high teens to mid-30s latitudes of the tropics and subtropics, typically in proximity to regions with a tropical savanna climate or a humid subtropical climate. These climates tend to have hot, or sometimes extremely hot, summers and warm to cool winters, with some to minimal precipitation. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts.

Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Africa, Australia, and South Asia. In Australia, a large portion of the Outback surrounding the central desert regions lies within the hot semi-arid climate region. In South Asia, both India and parts of Pakistan experience the seasonal effects of monsoons and feature short but well-defined wet seasons, but are not sufficiently wet overall to qualify as either a tropical savanna or a humid subtropical climate.

Hot semi-arid climates can be also found in parts of North America, such as most of northern Mexico, the ABC Islands, the rain shadows of Hispaniola's mountain ranges in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, parts of the Southwestern United States including California's Central Valley, and sections of South America such as the sertão, the Gran Chaco, and the poleward side of the arid deserts, where they typically feature a Mediterranean precipitation pattern, with generally rainless summers and wetter winters. They are also found in few areas of Europe surrounding the Mediterranean Basin. In Europe, BSh climates are predominantly found in southeastern Spain. It can also be found primarily in parts of south Greece but also in marginal areas of Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki in north Greece, most of Formentera, marginal areas of Ibiza and marginal areas of Italy in Sicily, Sardinia and Lampedusa.

Cold semi-arid climates

"BSk" redirects here. For other uses, see BSK.

Regions with cold semi-arid climates

Semi-arid climate in Montana, USA.

Cold semi-arid climates (type "BSk") tend to be located in elevated portions of temperate zones generally from the mid-30s to low 50s latitudes, typically bordering a humid continental climate or a Mediterranean climate. They are also typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm to hot dry summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold and possibly freezing winters. These areas usually see some snowfall during the winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates.

Areas featuring cold semi-arid climates tend to have higher elevations than areas with hot semi-arid climates, and tend to feature major temperature swings between day and night, sometimes by as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more. These large diurnal temperature variations are seldom seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates at higher latitudes tend to have dry winters and wetter summers, while cold semi-arid climates at lower latitudes tend to have precipitation patterns more akin to Mediterranean climates, with dry summers, relatively wet winters, and even wetter springs and autumns.

Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in central Asia and the western US, as well as the Middle East and other parts of Asia. However, they can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, sections of South America, sections of interior southern Australia (e.g. Kalgoorlie and Mildura) and southern New Zealand (Alexandra) and sections of Europe.

Charts of selected cities

Hot semi-arid

Patos, Paraíba, Brazil
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     66     32 22     139     32 22     213     31 22     177     30 22     55     29 21     28     27 21     12     27 20     3     28 20     1     30 20     4     31 21     8     32 21     22     32 21 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6     90 71     5.5     89 71     8.4     88 71     7     86 71     2.2     84 71     1.1     81 69     0.5     81 67     0.1     82 67     0     85 69     0.2     88 69     0.3     89 70     0.9     90 71 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Kalgoorlie, Australia
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     27     34 18     32     32 18     25     30 16     20     25 13     25     21 9     27     18 6     24     17 5     21     19 6     14     22 8     16     26 11     19     29 14     16     32 17 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.1     92 65     1.3     90 64     1     85 61     0.8     78 55     1     69 48     1.1     64 43     1     62 41     0.8     66 42     0.5     72 47     0.6     79 52     0.7     84 58     0.6     90 62 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Jaipur, India
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.9     23 8     10     26 12     4.4     32 17     7.1     38 23     12     41 27     62     40 28     191     35 26     203     33 25     80     32 24     19     34 20     1.9     30 14     3.8     25 10 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.2     73 47     0.4     79 54     0.2     90 63     0.3     100 73     0.5     106 81     2.4     103 82     7.5     95 79     8     91 77     3.1     90 75     0.8     93 68     0.1     85 58     0.1     77 50 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Niamey, Niger
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0     33 16     0     36 19     3.9     39 23     5.7     41 27     35     40 28     69     37 26     154     34 24     171     33 23     92     34 24     9.7     38 24     0.7     36 20     0     33 17 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0     91 61     0     96 66     0.2     102 73     0.2     106 80     1.4     104 82     2.7     99 78     6.1     93 75     6.7     91 74     3.6     94 74     0.4     100 76     0     97 67     0     92 62 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Murcia, Spain
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     25     17 5     28     18 6     30     21 8     27     23 10     32     27 13     20     31 17     5     34 20     10     34 21     27     30 18     44     26 14     32     20 9     21     17 6 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1     62 40     1.1     65 43     1.2     70 46     1.1     74 49     1.3     80 56     0.8     88 63     0.2     93 69     0.4     94 70     1.1     87 64     1.7     78 57     1.3     69 48     0.8     63 42 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Monterrey, Mexico
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     22     22 10     27     24 12     29     28 15     34     31 18     53     34 21     63     36 23     60     36 23     73     36 24     200     33 22     64     29 19     30     25 14     23     22 11 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: NOAA
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.9     72 50     1.1     75 54     1.1     82 59     1.3     88 65     2.1     92 70     2.5     96 74     2.4     96 74     2.9     97 74     7.9     91 71     2.5     84 65     1.2     76 57     0.9     71 51 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Cold semi-arid

Bloemfontein, South Africa
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     92     31 15     83     30 15     77     28 12     44     24 7     19     21 2     13     18 −2     5.3     18 −2     9.9     21 0     12     25 5     46     27 9     65     29 11     71     31 14 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: NOAA
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.6     87 59     3.3     86 58     3     82 54     1.7     76 45     0.7     70 36     0.5     65 29     0.2     65 28     0.4     70 33     0.5     77 40     1.8     81 48     2.6     84 53     2.8     87 57 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     11     26 14     17     25 13     28     23 11     32     19 9     34     15 6     37     11 3     21     11 3     19     13 4     20     16 5     13     19 7     14     22 10     13     25 12 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional,
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.4     79 56     0.7     77 55     1.1     73 52     1.3     66 47     1.3     58 42     1.5     52 38     0.8     52 37     0.8     56 39     0.8     60 41     0.5     66 45     0.6     72 50     0.5     76 54 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Madrid, Spain
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     33     10 3     34     12 4     25     16 6     45     18 8     50     22 11     21     28 16     12     32 19     10     31 19     22     26 15     60     19 11     58     14 6     51     10 4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.3     50 37     1.3     54 39     1     61 43     1.8     65 46     2     72 52     0.8     83 61     0.5     90 66     0.4     88 66     0.9     80 60     2.4     67 51     2.3     56 43     2     50 38 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Reno, Nevada, United States
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     26     8 −4     26     11 −2     19     14 1     12     18 3     12     23 8     13     29 11     4.6     33 14     5.8     33 13     8.9     28 9     13     21 4     21     13 −1     26     8 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: NOAA
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1     46 25     1     51 29     0.8     58 33     0.5     64 38     0.5     74 46     0.5     83 52     0.2     92 58     0.2     91 56     0.4     82 49     0.5     69 39     0.8     55 31     1     46 25 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Astrakhan, Russia
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     15     0 −7     12     2 −7     17     9 −1     25     18 6     28     25 13     25     30 18     22     33 20     17     31 18     16     25 13     19     17 6     17     7 0     18     1 −5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Pogoda.ru.net
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.6     32 20     0.5     35 20     0.7     48 30     1     64 43     1.1     76 55     1     86 64     0.9     91 68     0.7     89 65     0.6     76 55     0.7     62 43     0.7     45 32     0.7     34 24 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Tianjin, China
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6     2 −7     6     6 −4     6.1     13 2     23     21 10     38     27 16     78     30 21     141     32 24     122     31 23     55     27 17     33     20 10     14     11 2     3.1     4 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: China Meteorological Administration
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.1     36 20     0.2     42 25     0.2     55 36     0.9     69 49     1.5     80 60     3.1     86 69     5.6     89 74     4.8     87 73     2.2     80 63     1.3     68 50     0.5     51 35     0.1     39 24 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

See also

• Continental climate
• Dry climate
• Desert climate
• Dust Bowl (an era of devastating dust storms, mostly in the 1930s, in semi-arid areas on the Great Plains of the United States and Prairies of Canada)
• Goyder's Line (a boundary marking the limit of semi-arid climates in the Australian state of South Australia)
• Köppen climate classification
• Palliser's Triangle (semi-arid area of Canada)
• Ustic (Soil Moisture Regime)
• Wave height