In the Köppen climatic classification, the Limpopo River basin falls into several different classes (Köppen 1918; Rosenberg 1999; Rubel and Kottek 2010):
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The basin as a whole is classified as semi-arid, dry and hot - BSh
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The central river valley, arid, dry and hot - BWh
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The highveld of South Africa is classified as temperate, with summer rainfall and cool to hot summers - Cwc and Cwa.
The map below shows the distribution of the Köppen classes for the Limpopo River basin. These data are calculated at a global scale, hence the coarse nature of the map data.
Köppen-Gieger Climate Classification for the Limpopo River basin.
Source: Kottek et al. 2006
( click to enlarge )
For more information on the criteria used to define the Köppen classification, please refer to the University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna Köppen-Gieger website http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/index.htm
This institute has also used historical climate records from the German Weather Service Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC), to develop a global retrospective assessment of Köppen-Gieger Classes for the period of 1901 to 1925. Furthermore, they have used inputs from global climate models to develop a projected Köppen-Gieger Climate Classification for 2076 to 2100.
 Retrospective Köppen-Gieger Climate Classification for the Limpopo River basin (1901 - 1925). Source: Rubel and Kottek 2010 ( click to enlarge ) |
 Projected Köppen-Gieger Climate Classification for the Limpopo River basin (2076 - 2100). Source: Rubel and Kottek 2010 ( click to enlarge ) |
