The Climate of South Africa According to Thornthwaite's Rational Classification

Abstract

In this paper the climate of South Africa is classified along the lines of C. W. Thornthwaite's paper “An Approach Toward a Rational Classification of Climate” which appears in the American Geographical Review of January 1948. Since only the salient points of this classification together with examples are reiterated here, It is advisable for the reader to have recourse to the said paper for a more complete understanding of the subject. The maps, especially as regards the mountainous regions, are necessarly only a generalised version of the true picture that would result from an evenly distributed and close network of stations. In the second part of this paper an account is given of an attempt at the direct measurement of evapotranspiration under natural high-veld conditions. It is hoped that the results obtained, though not conclusive, may stimulate further research in this particular aspect of climatology.