Ice cap climate (EF)
Also called: Polar ice cap climate · Topic: World Climate Classification: Koeppen's Scheme · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 11 "World Climate and Climate Change"
Meaning
The ice cap climate (EF) is the coldest Koeppen type. Every month averages below 0°C, so there is no thaw even in summer. Very little snow or rain falls, so these areas are polar deserts. Over a long time the snow piles up and turns into thick ice sheets. The weight of the ice makes the sheets flow outward and break off at their edges as icebergs.
Example
Interior Antarctica and interior Greenland have an EF climate. NCERT's example station is Plateau Station, Antarctica (79°S). The world's lowest recorded temperature, −89.2°C, was measured at Vostok, Antarctica, on 21 July 1983.
Don't confuse with
- Tundra climate (ET): in ET the warmest month is between 0°C and 10°C, so mosses and lichens can grow over permafrost. EF stays below 0°C all year and is covered by ice.