Macroclimate
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macroclimate
[¦mak·rō′klī·mət]Macroclimate
the climate of large geographic areas such as geographic zones, continents and oceans or large parts thereof, or even the entire earth; macroclimate deals with the main climatic features of these areas. If such a part of the earth’s surface is sufficiently uniform in its geographic factors and conditions of general atmospheric circulation it will have a certain macroclimate. For example, it is possible to speak of the macro-climate of the tradewinds zone, of Eastern Siberia, of the Mediterranean Basin, and the Antarctic Plateau. Macroclimates are characterized by quantitative indexes that refer to the entire area being considered (that is, intervals within which particular climatic characteristics change throughout the area or their average values for the entire area). The macroclimate is contrasted with the local climate and microclimate.