For the purposes of architecture and urban planning and design, climate as most appropriate classification is based on considerations of human comfort (Szokolay, 1979). Based on these considerations, the climate is divided into;
- Climate (cold climates) where the main problem is the lack of hot almost all year round. Area with this climate lies in the polar regions.
- Moderate climate (moderate climates), where there is seasonal variation between the time when the excessive heat (overheating) and the lack of heat (underheating).
- The hot dry climate (hot dry climates), where there is excessive heat (overheating), but dry air
- Warm, humid climate (warm humid climates), where the main problem is excessive heat (overheating) and high humidity.
Tropical region is a region that lies between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 ° N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 ° S). In regard to the climate, the "tropical" is an area located between 20 ° C isotherm line in the northern and southern hemisphere. (Lipsmeier, 1994). Tropical climate is divided into 2 (two) major climatic regions, namely the tropical humid and dry tropics.
Solar radiation is the main factor of all the general features of climate (Lipsmeier, 1994). Areas with a humid tropical climate receives average solar radiation - the daily average larger than other regions. This causes the humid tropics have different average temperature - the average annual low (2-3 ° C) while the average temperature difference - average daily high (8-9 ° C). Highest temperature reached about - about two hours after noon, because at that time joined the direct solar radiation and the temperature is already high.
The amount of solar radiation also causes evaporation of water so the moisture in the humid tropics is higher. The higher the temperature the greater the water vapor that can be conceived to approach the saturation point.
