Scientists

Rudolf Geiger

ROO-dolf GY-ger

Climatologist

Citation Formats

General Reference

Earth and Environment Atlas. "Rudolf Geiger." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/scientists/rudolf-geiger.

APA Style

Earth and Environment Atlas. (n.d.). Rudolf Geiger. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/scientists/rudolf-geiger

BibTeX

@misc{earthandenvironmentatlas-rudolf-geiger,
  author = {Earth and Environment Atlas},
  title = {Rudolf Geiger},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/scientists/rudolf-geiger},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

German meteorologist and climatologist who founded the fields of microclimatology and forest meteorology through his long study of the climate near the ground. Between 1954 and 1961 he revised Wladimir Koppen's climate classification, adding finer temperature and precipitation subdivisions, which is why the scheme is often called the Koppen-Geiger classification.

Facts

Birth Date

1894-08-24 1

Birth Year

1894 1

Death Date

1981-01-22 1

Death Year

1981 1

Birthplace

Erlangen, German Empire 1

Death Place

Munich, West Germany 1

Nationality

German 1

Defining Contribution

Revised the Koppen climate classification in 1954 and 1961, giving the system its familiar Koppen-Geiger form 1

Notable Work

Das Klima der bodennahen Luftschicht (The Climate Near the Ground) 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Koppen Climate Classification

Geiger's revisions of 1954 and 1961 added finer precipitation and temperature subdivisions to Koppen's system, which is why it is often called the Koppen-Geiger classification.

Source Koppen Climate Classification (Wikipedia)