Ever wonder what the weather's like on a Mushroom Island? Or just how hot it really is in The Nether? Or if Minecraft's oceans are warm to swim in? Well I did. And I decided to find out. My first step was to take a bunch of biomes and find the average temperatures of their RL counterparts. Then, I adjusted it so a temperature value of 0.15 in the game code is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and adjusted the temperature gradients so that a game value of 1.2 equals 84.5 degrees Fahrenheit (I did it for much easier to calculate but still approximate temperature gradients) (77F is approximately the average temperature of Havana, Cuba, which is in a Tropical Savanna Climate). Therefore, a temperature increase of 0.1 in the game code is a temperature increase of 5F according to this calculation. Here is the result: Cold Taiga: -0.5 game code / -0.5F / -18.0556c Ice Plains: 0.0 game code / 24.5F / -4.166667c Ice Plains Spikes: 0.0 game code / 24.5F / -4.166667c Ice Mountains: 0.0 game code / 24.5F / -4.166667c Frozen River: 0.0 game code / 24.5F / -4.166667c Frozen Ocean: 0.0 game code / 24.5F / -4.166667c Cold Beach: 0.05 game code / 27F / -2.77778c Extreme Hills: 0.2 game code / 34.5F / 1.388889c Extreme Hills+: 0.2 game code / 34.5F / 1.388889c Stone Beach: 0.2 game code / 34.5F / 1.388889c Taiga: 0.25 game code / 37F / 2.77778c Mega Spruce Taiga: 0.25 game code / 37F / 2.77778c Mega Taiga: 0.3 game code / 39.5F / 4.166667c River: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c Ocean: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c The End: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c The End - Floating Islands: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c The End - Medium Island: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c The End - High Island: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c The End - Barren Island: 0.5 game code / 49.5F / 9.722222c Birch Forest: 0.6 game code / 54.5F / 12.5c Forest: 0.7 game code / 59.5F / 15.27778c Flower Forest: 0.7 game code / 59.5F / 15.27778c Roofed Forest: 0.7 game code / 59.5F / 15.27778c Swampland: 0.8 game code / 64.5F / 18.05556c Beach: 0.8 game code / 64.5F / 18.05556c Plains: 0.8 game code / 64.5F / 18.05556c Sunflower Plains: 0.8 game code / 64.5F / 18.05556c Mushroom Island: 0.9 game code / 69.5F / 20.83333c Mushroom Island Shore: 0.9 game code / 69.5F / 20.83333c Jungle: 0.95 game code / 72F / 22.2222c Jungle Edge: 0.95 game code / 72F / 22.2222c Savanna M: 1.1 game code / 79.5F / 26.38889c Savanna (NOT counting Savanna M): 1.2 game code / 84.5F / 28.05556c Desert: 2.0 game code / 124.5F / 51.38889c Mesa: 2.0 game code / 124.5F / 51.38889c Mesa Bryce: 2.0 game code / 124.5F / 51.38889c Hell (The Nether): 2.0 game code / 124.5F / 51.38889c Warm Ocean: ? Lukewarm Ocean: ? Cold Ocean: ? Remember, this is a silly calculation rather than a scientific study, plus averages can be misleading. So please take this with a grain of salt (or should I say redstone?), but still. Except, the snowy biomes don't sound extreme enough, and Desert/Mesa sound too extreme (in my opinion anyways). Hills, M, and Plateau variations (as well as Deep Ocean variations) are the same unless stated otherwise. However, flower biomes are listed separately. Also, this is the SEA LEVEL temperature (temperature doesn't decrease below sea level), as going up 32 blocks decreases the temperature value by approximately 0.05 in the Minecraft code (which is why Extreme Hills' mountains get snow on top). Less than or equal to 0.15 in the Minecraft code results in snow, and greater than 0.95 in the Minecraft code results in a rainless climate which will make snow golems take fire damage from heatstroke. Except with swamps, roofed forests, and mesa, grass color is also temperature-dependent. Also, I still do not know the temperatures of the new Ocean variants that will be added in the future, nor of the four separate End biomes to be added, so I'll only add those once I know the temperature value. EDIT: Frozen Ocean and the new End biomes have their temperatures revealed now too! However, I still do not have info on the other new ocean biomes as of April 8, 2018.
Thanks! I did this because I saw someone on a subreddit who did something like this, but they left some biomes out, got some of the code temperatures wrong, and no biomes (not even Cold Taiga) were 32F/oC or below with their calculations... Plus, weather/climate are things I enjoy studying IRL.
This is the best forecast ever! Now I can find a new home. ( The Top Layer of the Far Lands is pretty cold (at about Y=235 at my current home)!)
Seems to be on the right track, though I cannot say that with 100% certainty. I've heard about the biome temperature values back before 1.7 came out and I was very intrigued by them. It truly does add to how the game functions. It would be nice to see Mojang implement some more interactiveness with the biomes based on these values. Maybe some deserts are hotter than others and have no water at all, or some forests have a special type of tree that changes with the seasons or something? (I'm not the only one thinking this, others have said this back in 2013/2012...) Other than that, those numbers look like that they are in the vicinity to what the developers (probably) expect them to be.