A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States, and Okinawa, Japan that fall into the tropical rainforest climate category. They experience high mean annual temperatures, small temperature ranges, and rain that falls throughout the year. Regions with this climate are typically designated Af by the Köppen climate classification. A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet.
Description
Tropical rain forests have a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season—all months have an average precipitation value of at least . There are no distinct wet or dry seasons as rainfall is high throughout the months. One day in a tropical rainforest climate can be very similar to the next, while the change in temperature between day and night may be larger than the average change in temperature during the year.
Equatorial climates and tropical trade-wind climates
When tropical rainforest climates are more dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) than the trade winds (and with no or rare cyclones), so usually located near the equator, they are also called equatorial climates. Otherwise, when they are more dominated by the trade winds than the ITCZ, they are called tropical trade-wind climates. In pure equatorial climates, the atmospheric pressure is almost constantly low so the horizontal pressure gradient is low. Consequently, the winds are rare and usually weak (except sea and land breezes in coastal areas) while in tropical trade-wind climates, often located at higher latitudes than the equatorial climates, wind is almost permanent which incidentally explains why rainforest formations are impoverished compared to those of equatorial climates due to their necessary resistance to strong winds accompanying tropical disturbances.
Cities with tropical rainforest climates
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Asia
Batang, Indonesia
Palembang, Indonesia
Medan, Indonesia
Balikpapan, Indonesia (equatorial climate) Padang, Indonesia (equatorial climate) Pontianak, Indonesia (equatorial climate) Ishigaki, Japan Johor Bahru, Malaysia (equatorial climate) Kandy, Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (equatorial climate) Kuching, Malaysia (equatorial climate) George Town, Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Davao City, Philippines Polomolok, Philippines Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines Singapore (equatorial climate) Kurunegala, Sri Lanka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka Orchid Island, Taiwan Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
Oceania
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Innisfail, Queensland, Australia
Palikir, Federated States of Micronesia
Suva, Fiji
Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Chile
Hagåtña, Guam
Tarawa, Kiribati
Majuro, Marshall Islands
Tabubil, Papua New Guinea (equatorial climate) Lae, Papua New Guinea (equatorial climate) Apia, Samoa Honiara, Solomon Islands Nuku’alofa, Tonga Funafuti, Tuvalu Hilo, Hawaii, United States Port Vila, Vanuatu
Africa
Moroni, Comoros
Kisumu, Kenya
Harper, Liberia (equatorial climate) Antalaha, Madagascar Manakara, Madagascar Kampala, Uganda Toamasina, Madagascar
Americas
Lelydorp, Suriname
Punta Gorda, Belize
Limón, Costa Rica
Higüey, Dominican Republic
Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
La Ceiba, Honduras
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Bluefields, Nicaragua
Changuinola, Panama
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Belém, Brazil (equatorial climate) Macaé, Brazil Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago Salvador, Brazil Florencia, Colombia Puyo, Ecuador (equatorial climate) Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana (equatorial climate) Georgetown, Guyana Iquitos, Peru (equatorial climate) Paramaribo, Suriname (equatorial climate) Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia (equatorial climate) Leticia, Colombia (equatorial climate)