GC Leong Test: The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate or China Type Climate - BPSC (Bihar) MCQ

• It has comparatively more rainfall than the Mediterranean climate in the same latitudes, coming mainly in the summer
• It is, in fact, the climate of most parts of China a modified form of monsoonal climate. It is thus also called the Temperate Monsoon or China Type of climate.

Though less pronounced, the overall climatic features resemble those of the China type.

As the regions are influenced by the on-shore Trade Winds all the year-round, without any monsoon variations, the climate cannot be described as temperate monsoon It is sometimes referred to as the v≫ u≫ I type of climate.

• Rainfall is more than moderate, anything from 25 inches to 60 inches.
• Occasionally, the penetration of cold air from the continental interiors may bring down the temperature to freezing point Though frosts are rare they occasionally occur in the colder interiors. For most of the time, it is pleasantly warm.

• There is no distinct dry period as in monsoon lands, and the abundant moisture has stimulated extensive cultivation of cotton and maize, in the Cotton and Corn Belts both of which are the world's leading areas for these crops. 
• From the rainfall pattern. it is clear that there is a tendency towards a summer maximum, brought by the on-shore Trade Winds which swing landwards from the Atlantic.

• Some stations, e.g. Montgomery in Alabama, also show a secondary maximum in late winter when cyclonic activities are greatest.
• Though these whirling storms follow only a narrow path in the central plain (Mississippi basin), they leave behind a trail of destruction.

The narrowness of the continents and the dominance of maritime influence eliminate the monsoonal elements which characterize the corresponding climates of the northern hemisphere.

• The annual precipitation of Durban in Natal is 45 inches and that of Asuncion in Paraguay is 52 inches.
• Sydney has its wettest months in March, April. May, June, and July (the autumn-winter part of the year).

• The Southerly Buster, a violent cold wind blowing along the coast of New South Wales, leads to a sudden fall in temperature. It is most frequent in spring and summer.
• The corresponding cold wind in Argentina and Uruguay is the Pampero, which is often accompanied by thunder and lightning besides the rain and dust.
• In south-eastern Africa, a hot, dry wind called the Berg Wind comes down from the interior plateau.

The lowlands carry both ever-green broad-leaved forests and deciduous trees quite similar to those of the tropical monsoon forests. On the highlands, are various species of conifers such as pines and cypresses which are important soft-woods.