Two views of the data have been implemented so far. One view divides the world according to both a hot/cold distinction and a dry/wet distinction. Light colours are hot (yellow and light green), whereas dark colors are cooler (brown and dark green). Dry regions are yellow or brown, whereas wet ones are light or dark green. Thus, the yellow area is both hot and dry. By moving the sliders you can adjust the temperature threshold used to divide hot and cool and the rainfall threshold dividing dry and wet.
The second view is just of precipitation, with the world being divided into five zones: Desert (red), Arid (orange), Semi-Arid (yellow), Temperate (light green) and Wet (dark green). Using the sliders you can select your own value for the thresholds used to separate these climate types.
As well as giving an informative view of the climactic conditions around the world, the adaptable map display is intended to illustrate the vagueness inherent in geographic feature classifications. The world's climate varies continuously, so when we classify a region as a desert we are making a choice regarding just how hot and dry a region should be to count as a desert. In traditional maps the choice has already been made for you, but an adaptive digital map allows the map user to make their own choice.