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We've been talking about climates so much, we thought you deserved a few examples.
Rainforests
The most moist and warm of all the climates on the planet is the tropical rainforest climate. This climate experiences daily thunderstorms. The storms are called convectional because they are caused by the surface heating up during the day, and the high humidity creates thunderclouds. With the high amount of rain, the trees never lose their leaves. They are evergreen. The trees also have big broad leaves to catch the Sun's light. The trees are very high and their branches create a canopy. That canopy lets very little light reach the ground, and there are very few plants on the surface. You will find bacteria and small animals on the ground that break down the plant material that falls. Go to Brazil to see these forests.
Marine West Coast
The marine west coast climate is characterized by a mild winter and a cool summer. Because these areas are so close to the ocean, the temperatures generally remain within specific ranges. Much of Europe is classified as this climate type. When you say mild, you have to consider the extremes of temperatures that can happen at the same latitudes. Even though you can expect a reasonable temperature range, there is always unpredictable weather (day-to-day occurrences). Sometimes you get a lot of fog, and other times you get a strong frost at the end of spring. Those frosts make the growing seasons shorter than for most other places.
Dry Summers
Mediterranean dry summer climates have very wet winters and dry summers. Maybe you've been to California or to places in Europe. Even though they are thousands of miles apart, they have very similar climates. They are kept cool (in summer) because of the ocean currents that move past their coastal areas. They get most of their rain for the year (70%) in the winter months. The rest of the year is generally very dry. In California the local plants are considered to be drought resistant because most of the water has gone by April and May. They have to survive until November when the rains begin again.
Getting Colder
The subarctic climate type is the last stretch of land before you get to the polar regions. Subarctic climates are more seasonal than many other climates. Because they are at such high latitudes, their day length also changes a lot (very short in winter, long in summer). Sometimes the Sun comes up at three in the morning! A characteristic of these areas is that they may have had glaciers on the land thousands of years ago. The glaciers cut through the landscape and even now, there are very few plants and very thin soil.
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