Köppen-Geiger climate classification · tropical

Aw — Tropical savanna (dry winter)

Climate: Hot all year with a marked dry season (low-sun period) and a wet season.
Growing period: Rainfed cropping is confined to the wet season; irrigation extends the dry season.
Soils & vegetation: Often ferruginous soils; seasonal grasslands.
Agricultural relevance: Sorghum, millet, maize, cotton, sugarcane, and extensive grazing; a foundational tropical cropping zone.
Where it occurs: Sahel, Brazilian cerrado, northern Australia, much of India.
Classification: Köppen-Geiger (Kottek et al. 2006; Beck et al. 2018)

Limitations

Zone boundaries are climatological averages; local microclimate, elevation, and soils vary within a zone.
Membership in a broad zone does not by itself indicate crop suitability or a recommendation.

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.