Type Shapefile
The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. This map is derived from the global climate zones presented by Beck et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution,” and represents the spatial distribution in vector format of 29 climate zones (out of 30 global climate zones) present in North America.
The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.
This map is derived from the global climate zones presented by Beck et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution,” and represents the spatial distribution in vector format of 29 climate zones (out of 30 global climate zones) present in North America.
This map was produced by resampling the original input data spatial resolution of 0.0083 degrees to 0.016 degrees and cropping the global data to the North American region. The map was used to meet the needs of the CEC project “Improving the effectiveness of early warning systems for drought” in assessing the effectiveness of available drought indicators and indices in climate zones of North America.
Reference: Beck, H., Zimmermann, N., McVicar, T. et al. Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Sci Data 5, 180214 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2021. “North American Environmental Atlas - Climate Zones”. Beck, Hylke E.; E. Zimmermann, Niklaus; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis; Wood, Eric F. (2018): Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Scientific Data 5:180214. Ed. 1.0, Vector digital data [1:10,000,000].
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
| West | -180 | East | -50 |
| North | 85 | South | 14 |
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:150,000,000 |
The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. This map is derived from the global climate zones presented by Beck et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution,” and represents the spatial distribution in vector format of 29 climate zones (out of 30 global climate zones) present in North America. This map was produced by resampling the original input data spatial resolution of 0.0083 degrees to 0.016 degrees and cropping the global data to the North American region. The map was used to meet the needs of the CEC project “Improving the effectiveness of early warning systems for drought” in assessing the effectiveness of available drought indicators and indices in climate zones of North America. Reference: Beck, H., Zimmermann, N., McVicar, T. et al. Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Sci Data 5, 180214 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214
El mapa de zonas climáticas de América del Norte muestra la distribución de los distintos tipos de clima observados en Canadá, Estados Unidos y México con base en la clasificación climática de Köppen-Geiger. Este mapa se deriva de los mapas de zonas climáticas mundiales presentados por Beck et al. (2018)—“Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution”— y representa la distribución espacial en formato vectorial de 29 zonas climáticas (de un total de 30 registradas en todo el mundo) con presencia en América del Norte. Resultado del remuestreo a una resolución espacial de 0.016 grados de los datos de entrada originales (con resolución inicial de 0.0083 grados) y del recorte a la región de América del Norte de datos de alcance mundial, este mapa se utilizó para apoyar las tareas de evaluación de la eficacia de los indicadores e índices de sequía disponibles en las zonas climáticas de América del Norte, como parte del proyecto Mejoramiento de la eficacia de los sistemas de alerta temprana en casos de sequía de la CCA. Referencia: H. Beck, N. Zimmermann, T. McVicar et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution”, Sci Data, vol. 5, núm. 180214, en: <https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214>.
La carte des zones climatiques de l’Amérique du Nord montre la répartition des types de climats au Canada, au Mexique et aux États-Unis selon la classification climatique de Köppen-Geiger. Cette carte se fonde sur les zones climatiques mondiales présentées dans Beck et coll. (2018), Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution (Cartes montrant la classification actuelle et future des climats selon la classification de Köppen-Geiger avec une résolution de 1 km), et illustre la répartition spatiale sous format vectoriel des 29 zones climatiques de l’Amérique du Nord (sur 30 zones à l’échelle mondiale). L’établissement de cette carte a donné lieu à un rééchantillonnage de la résolution spatiale des données initiales variant de 0,0083 à 0,016 degré, et à un recadrage des données en fonction du continent nord‑américain. La carte a servi à répondre aux besoins d’un projet de la Commission de coopération environnementale (CCE), intitulé Amélioration de l’efficacité des systèmes d’alerte rapide en cas de sécheresse, dans le cadre de l’évaluation de l’efficacité des indicateurs et des indices de sécheresse disponibles dans les zones climatiques de l’Amérique du Nord. Document de référence: Beck, H., N. Zimmermann, T. McVicar et coll. Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Sci Data 5, 180214 (2018), consultable à l’adresse <https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214>.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which came into force at the same time as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. As of 2020, the CEC operates in accordance with the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force at the same time as the CUSMA/T-MEC/USMCA trade agreement. This data set is available in several formats, including Shapefile, Map package, and a PDF Map, along with other files appropriate to particular format, such as .lyrx and .qlr files.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2021. “North American Environmental Atlas - Climate Zones”. Beck, Hylke E.; E. Zimmermann, Niklaus; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis; Wood, Eric F. (2018): Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Scientific Data 5:180214. Ed. 1.0, Vector digital data [1:10,000,000].
North America
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
All climate classification information in this dataset represents one of the most up-to-date efforts to describe climate conditions across the globe, including this North American extract. The North American territory is extensively represented in this map, and no near-future update is projected for the present climate zones dataset.
No formal accuracy assessment has been conducted of the attributes in this data set. The data set reflects the accuracy of the source files. Confidence levels of the original Köppen-Geiger climate classification conducted by Beck et al. 2018 are available at: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Present_and_future_K_ppen-Geiger_climate_classification_maps_at_1-km_resolution/6396959/2accuracy.
No tests for logical consistency have been conducted on this data set.
No tests for positional accuracy were performed on this data set. The horizontal positional accuracy depends on the accuracy of the source data.
The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. This map is derived from the global climate zones presented by Beck et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution,” and represents the spatial distribution in vector format of 29 climate zones (out of 30 global climate zones) present in North America. This map was produced by resampling the original input data spatial resolution of 0.0083 degrees to 0.016 degrees and cropping the global data to the North American region. The map was used to meet the needs of the CEC project “Improving the effectiveness of early warning systems for drought” in assessing the effectiveness of available drought indicators and indices in climate zones of North America. Reference: Beck, H., Zimmermann, N., McVicar, T. et al. Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Sci Data 5, 180214 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214
1. The original dataset was acquired in raster digital format from: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Present_and_future_K_ppen-Geiger_climate_classification_maps_at_1-km_resolution/6396959/2 2. The file Beck_KG_V1_present_0p0083.tif (0.0083 degrees spatial resolution) was selected as the input data. 3. A spatial clip process was conducted, cropping the global climate zones map to the North American region using the Commission for Environmental Cooperation Political Boundaries Map as a reference. The output map represents the continental territories of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, as well as their insular territories. 4. Pixels classified as “0” in the input data that remained in the North American map after the clipping process were reclassified as NoData. 5. The original pixels were resampled to 0.016 degrees. 6. The output raster file from the previous step was reprojected to the standard CEC North American Atlas coordinate reference system (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area). 7. The reprojected raster file was converted to vector format. 8. All polygons were merged by climate class type, allowing multipart polygons. 9. A set of attribute fields was added to the vector file to describe the climate code, the name of the climate type in English, Spanish, and French, and the legend keys in the same three languages. 10. A color scheme was defined for all classes based on the RGB codes reported by Beck et al. (2018), and three legend layers were generated—one for each language: English, Spanish, and French.
Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution
1-km spatial resolution
This North American Atlas base layer shows political entities in North America as polygons representing jurisdictional areas, and as lines representing political boundaries including international boundaries, Provincial boundaries and State or territory boundaries. This is a revised version of the 2010 data set released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. This new version integrates political boundaries spatial vector information published by each country in 2021. The data set includes 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada; 32 states in Mexico; 48 states and the District of Columbia in the conterminous United Sates, Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean region.
Climate definition of a region of the planet that shares common seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns, categorized by the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Climate characteristics are represented by five main groups (A = Tropical, B = Dry, C = Temperate, D = Continental, and E = Polar) and 30 sub-groups.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Internal feature number.
Esri
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Feature geometry.
Esri
Coordinates defining the features.
Climate zone identification ID taken from the input map layer.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Two or Three-letter code describing climate type.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Description of the climate zone type in English.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Description of the climate zone type in Spanish.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Description of the climate zone type in French.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Legend key in English.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Legend key in Spanish.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Legend key in French.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
None. Acknowledgment of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and/or Beck, H. (2018) et al. would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.