What a Cfb climate is like
Cfb Temperate oceanic. Rain at any time of year, cool to warm summers and mild winters, thanks to the influence of the sea. Typical of north-west Europe.
The rules behind the code, in plain English:
- Temperate (coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C).
- No dry season (neither a dry summer nor a dry winter as defined above).
- Warm summer: the warmest month is under 22 °C, and at least four months are above 10 °C.
Dataset wording: "Temperate, no dry season, warm summer". In the maps of Beck et al. (2023) the class is written: C: Not B and Thot > 10 and 0 < Tcold < 18; f: Not Cs or Cw; b: Not a and Tmon10 >= 4.
Temperate oceanic climate is mild and damp, with no extremes: cool to warm summers, cool winters and rain in every season. The sea keeps the temperature swings small, so the weather changes more from day to day than from month to month. Grass stays green, deciduous woodland is typical and farming is mostly pasture, cereals and root crops. Houses are built to keep out damp and hold heat, and people dress in layers and keep a waterproof close.
How much of the world is Cfb?
- 2.3%of the world's land outside Antarctica, 1991 to 2020
- 3,065,583 km²area, 1991 to 2020
- 3,920cities of 15,000 or more people (GeoNames) have this climate now
In 1901 to 1930 it covered 2.3% of that land, so its area then was 0.42% larger than in 1991 to 2020.
How the Cfb area is projected to change by 2071 to 2099
These figures compare the area of Cfb in each future map with 1991 to 2020. They come from the Beck et al. (2023) model projections under three emissions scenarios. They show what the scenarios imply, not what will happen.
| Map | Share of land | Change in area vs 1991 to 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 to 1930 (past) | 2.3% | +0.42% |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | 2.3% | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | 2.2% | -5.27% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | 1.9% | -16.17% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | 1.4% | -36.85% |
Shares are of land outside Antarctica. A negative change means the zone shrinks.
What happens to today's Cfb land
Of the land that is Cfb in 1991 to 2020, this is how much stays Cfb and where the rest ends up in 2071 to 2099, by scenario:
| Scenario (2071 to 2099) | Stays Cfb | Where the rest goes (biggest first) |
|---|---|---|
| SSP1-2.6, low emissions | 77% | Cfa (17%), Af (2.7%), Am (0.7%), BSk (0.7%), Aw (0.5%) |
| SSP2-4.5, middle of the road | 61% | Cfa (28%), Af (4.3%), Csa (1.3%), Am (1.2%), Csb (1.1%) |
| SSP5-8.5, high emissions | 38% | Cfa (43%), Af (6.5%), Csa (4.2%), Am (1.9%), Aw (1.9%) |
Looking back, 82% of today's Cfb land was also Cfb in 1901 to 1930. The rest was Dfb (11%), Csb (2%), Cfc (1.5%), Cwb (1.3%).
Where Cfb is found
The countries with the most Cfb land in 1991 to 2020:
| Country | Area | Share of all Cfb | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 446,446 km² | 15% | 70% |
| Australia | 314,572 km² | 10% | 4.1% |
| Germany | 283,262 km² | 9.2% | 80% |
| United Kingdom | 232,484 km² | 7.6% | 97% |
| New Zealand | 221,147 km² | 7.2% | 85% |
| Brazil | 149,524 km² | 4.9% | 1.8% |
| Argentina | 105,740 km² | 3.5% | 3.8% |
| Colombia | 96,683 km² | 3.2% | 8.5% |
Places with a Cfb climate today
The biggest cities in the 1991 to 2020 map that sit in Cfb (at most two per country):
Other temperate climates (group C)
Frequently asked questions
What does Cfb mean in the Köppen climate classification?
Temperate (coldest month between 0 °C and 18 °C). No dry season (neither a dry summer nor a dry winter as defined above). Warm summer: the warmest month is under 22 °C, and at least four months are above 10 °C. The code is a short way of writing that: the first letter is the major group (C, temperate) and the letters after it say more about rain and temperature.
What is a temperate oceanic climate like?
Mild and damp, with no extremes. Rain at any time of year, cool to warm summers and mild winters, thanks to the influence of the sea. Typical of north-west Europe.
How much of the world has a Cfb climate?
2.3% of the world's land outside Antarctica was Cfb in 1991 to 2020, about 3,065,583 km² (Beck et al. 2023, 1 km maps).
Will the Cfb climate zone grow or shrink?
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the area of Cfb in 2071 to 2099 is 16.17% smaller than in 1991 to 2020. This is a model projection, not a forecast, and it differs under other scenarios (see the table on this page).
Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0. See data sources and licences. Köppen-Geiger classes describe long-term averages, not weather.