Altitudinal zones of Alps mountains-extended diagram

The climate of the Alps is the climate, or average weather conditions over a long period of time, of the exact middle

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

region of Europe. As air rises from sea level to the upper regions of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

the temperature decreases. The effect of mountain topography on prevailing winds is to force warm air from the lower region into an upper zone where it expands in volume at the cost of a proportionate loss of heat, often accompanied by the precipitation of moisture in the form of snow, rain or

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

Climate as a function of elevation

Because air cools as it rises, the climate of the Alps is strongly dependent on the elevation. The Alps contain a number of different kinds of climate zones, by elevation. These zones can be described by the Köppen climate classification, and also correspond to the biotic zones of the Alps. Up to approximately of elevation, the climate is classified as oceanic or Cfb under the Köppen system. Like much of lowland northern Europe, the summers are mild and the winters are cool, but not cold. The climate is moderated by proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate creates the colline biotic zone in the lowlands, which is characterized by the deciduous forest of the Western European broadleaf forests ecoregion. Between approximately , the climate changes to either a humid continental climate (Dfb under the Köppen system), or a Cfc oceanic climate, depending on location. As elevation increases, the winters become colder and the summers become shorter. A mixture of

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

and deciduous trees occupy this

montane zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

, leading to a change in ecoregion to

Alps conifer and mixed forests The Alps conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in central Europe. It extends along the Alps mountains through portions of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. The eco ...

. Between approximately , the climate becomes

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

(Dfc under the Köppen system), with even shorter summers. The shorter growing season shifts the forest to be purely coniferous. At about , the climate becomes too cold to support trees, and is classified as an alpine climate (ET under the Köppen system). The summers become cool and only grasses and low plants are adapted to grow. This alpine climate extends to approximately . Above approximately , the climate transitions to an ice cap climate, where the mean temperature is always below . At these altitudes, no plants can grow and the ground is either rock or ice.

References

{{Reflist Alps Alps Ecology of the Alps