the latitude, ground, and height can change the climate of a location. it is also important to note if oceans or other large bodies of water are nearby. climates are most commonly classified by temperature and precipitation. the most commonly used classification was the köppen climate classification, first made by wladimir köppen. the thornthwaite system, which was used from 1948, not only uses temperature and precipitation information, but evapotranspiration too. this makes it useful for studying how many different kinds of animal species there are, and about the things that could happen when climates change. the bergeron and spatial synoptic classification systems focus more on where the air masses which help make climates come from.