• C – temperature of warmest month greater than or equal to 10 °C and temperature of coldest month less than 18 °C, but higher than -3 °C
• s – precipitation in the driest month during the summer half year is less than 30 mm and less than one third of the precipitation in the month with highest precipitation in the winter half year.
• a - temperature of the warmest month is higher than 22 °C

Cs climate type is characterized by a dry summer and wet winter. In the case of the Csa subtype, the summer tends to be very warm. The average temperature of the warmest month is above 22 °C. The wettest month in the winter usually has three times as much precipitation than the driest month in the summer, which usually has less than 30 mm of rainfall. Summers are therefore quite dry, with relatively little cloudiness and often longer periods with no rain at all. Winters on the other hand are wet and very rarely it snows as well.

Temperatures in the summer reach very high values between 30 and 40 °C. In the winter it is very unusual for the temperatures to fall below freezing point.

The continental Mediterranean climate (Csa) is sometimes also referred to as hot Mediterranean climate. The higher temperatures are the result of the fact that the places are usually deeper inland. The Csa subtype is more common than the other Cs climates and usually represents what most people imagine under the term “Mediterranean climate”.

It can be found for example around the Mediterranean sea in Europe, in Southwest Australia, Southwestern part of South Africa, some parts in Central Asia and in Northern California. Other places also include some microregions such as the Spanish capital Madrid, Italian Rome, American Los Angeles or Perth in Australia.