What a Dfc climate is like
Dfc Subarctic (boreal). The climate of the northern conifer forest, or taiga. Winters are long and severe, summers are brief, and the rain falls through the year.
The rules behind the code, in plain English:
- Cold (coldest month at or below 0 °C).
- No dry season (neither a dry summer nor a dry winter as defined above).
- Cold summer: not hot or warm, and the coldest month is not below -38 °C.
Dataset wording: "Cold, no dry season, cold summer". In the maps of Beck et al. (2023) the class is written: D: Not B and Thot > 10 and Tcold <= 0; f: Not Ds or Dw; c: Not (a, b or d).
Subarctic (boreal) climate has long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Snow lies for months, lakes freeze and daylight swings from very long in summer to very short in winter. The land is covered in coniferous boreal forest, known as taiga, with bogs and lakes between the trees. Few crops grow, and forestry is common. Buildings are heavily insulated, and people wear thick, layered clothing for much of the year.
How much of the world is Dfc?
- 11%of the world's land outside Antarctica, 1991 to 2020
- 14,849,607 km²area, 1991 to 2020
- 136cities of 15,000 or more people (GeoNames) have this climate now
In 1901 to 1930 it covered 12% of that land, so its area then was 4.49% larger than in 1991 to 2020.
How the Dfc area is projected to change by 2071 to 2099
These figures compare the area of Dfc 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) | 12% | +4.49% |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | 11% | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | 9.9% | -9.98% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | 8.7% | -20.82% |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | 5.3% | -52.22% |
Shares are of land outside Antarctica. A negative change means the zone shrinks.
What happens to today's Dfc land
Of the land that is Dfc in 1991 to 2020, this is how much stays Dfc and where the rest ends up in 2071 to 2099, by scenario:
| Scenario (2071 to 2099) | Stays Dfc | Where the rest goes (biggest first) |
|---|---|---|
| SSP1-2.6, low emissions | 77% | Dfb (21%), Dsc (1.4%) |
| SSP2-4.5, middle of the road | 63% | Dfb (34%), Dsc (1.7%), Dfa (0.8%) |
| SSP5-8.5, high emissions | 29% | Dfb (40%), Dfa (26%), Dsc (2.5%), Cfb (1%), Dsb (0.7%) |
Looking back, 83% of today's Dfc land was also Dfc in 1901 to 1930. The rest was ET (7.4%), Dfd (5.4%), Dsc (2.4%), Dwc (1.6%).
Where Dfc is found
The countries with the most Dfc land in 1991 to 2020:
| Country | Area | Share of all Dfc | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 8,179,756 km² | 55% | 49% |
| Canada | 4,586,463 km² | 31% | 47% |
| United States | 1,071,931 km² | 7.2% | 11% |
| Sweden | 255,992 km² | 1.7% | 58% |
| Finland | 241,799 km² | 1.6% | 73% |
| Norway | 209,645 km² | 1.4% | 57% |
| Kazakhstan | 50,036 km² | 0.3% | 1.9% |
| China | 34,813 km² | 0.2% | 0.4% |
Places with a Dfc climate today
The biggest cities in the 1991 to 2020 map that sit in Dfc (at most two per country):
- Arkhangel’sk, Russia
- Surgut, Russia
- Oulu, Finland
- Jyväskylä, Finland
- St. John's, Canada
- Luleå, Sweden
- Ushuaia, Argentina
- Östersund, Sweden
- Tromsø, Norway
- Conception Bay South, Canada
- Harstad, Norway
- Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Other cold (continental) climates (group D)
- Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
- Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
- Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
- Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter
- Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
- Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
- Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
- Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
- Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
- Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
- Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter
- All 30 zones
Frequently asked questions
What does Dfc mean in the Köppen climate classification?
Cold (coldest month at or below 0 °C). No dry season (neither a dry summer nor a dry winter as defined above). Cold summer: not hot or warm, and the coldest month is not below -38 °C. The code is a short way of writing that: the first letter is the major group (D, cold (continental)) and the letters after it say more about rain and temperature.
What is a subarctic (boreal) climate like?
Long, cold winters and short, cool summers. The climate of the northern conifer forest, or taiga. Winters are long and severe, summers are brief, and the rain falls through the year.
How much of the world has a Dfc climate?
11% of the world's land outside Antarctica was Dfc in 1991 to 2020, about 14,849,607 km² (Beck et al. 2023, 1 km maps).
Will the Dfc climate zone grow or shrink?
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the area of Dfc in 2071 to 2099 is 20.82% 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.