The climate is unique anywhere in the world. And residents of different places would have something to gossip about when they meet. So the climate of the island of Great Britain does not leave the British, Irish and Scots indifferent. And how many funny sayings they came up with on this topic!
Characteristics
The main feature of British weather is variability. In the morning the sun can shine, and in the evening the sky will be covered with clouds and it will get colder. Or it will be clear and warm all day, but tomorrow it will be pouring rain. The latter is generally a special conversation. The inhabitants of the island say that they have three types of weather: rain in the morning, heavy rain in the afternoon and drizzle in the evening. An exaggeration, of course, but it's really quite humid here.
What can I say, if in the "wettest" region of Great Britain (this is in Scotland) up to three thousand millimeters of precipitation falls a year! This is a lot. In the driest place - Cambridgeshire - about six times less, but also a lot. So what is the climate like in the UK? It is commonly described as temperate, humid and cool. But that doesn't say much. To understand the featuresUK climate, you need to study it comprehensively.
Humidity
As mentioned above, there is a lot of precipitation on the island: somewhere more, somewhere less. On average, the UK receives 2,000 millimeters of rain per year. Moreover, the wettest period here is from October to January, and the dry one is from March to June.
Snow cover
Winter precipitation is certainly not uncommon in the UK. Snow on the island falls everywhere, but with a thin cover, and mostly does not last more than a week. And only in the mountains of Scotland it can be observed for up to a month and a half. However, in recent years, due to a noticeable change in the global climate, heavy snow drifts have occurred in London.
Temperature
Great Britain, of course, is not famous for warm weather. The climate here is more moderate than at the same latitudes in Russia or Canada, thanks to the Gulf Stream (but more on that later). But they say that the inhabitants of Foggy Albion, at the first opportunity, tend to leave the country - for the weekend, of course. Yes, and as soon as a warm day is issued, the British immediately take off their warm clothes to get a little tan.
Although, again, due to climate change (whether warming or cooling - you can’t understand), the temperature on the island in summer began to rise to extreme values. But only one or two days a year. On average, the temperature here is (in the spring-summer period) 15-23 degrees above zero Celsius. And in winter it rarely drops below minus ten. The coldest months areTypically, this is January and February. It is warmest in July and August. Hard frosts in winter are rare, as is drought in summer. But here there are only 1340 hours of sunshine per year, which is one third of the maximum value in the world. That's why it's always cloudy here!
The maximum temperature was recorded in August 2003. Then the thermometer rose to 38.8 degrees above zero! The record was set in Kent. And the coldest day in the history of the British Isles is December 30, 1995. Temperatures in Scotland dropped to minus 27.2 Celsius on New Year's Eve.
Wind
In general, the type of climate in the UK can be described as maritime. After all, this is an island, and therefore it is not surprising that there are an abundance of windy days a year here. There are also strong hurricanes. As a rule, it is more windy by the sea than in the mountainous regions and in the center of the country.
So, on the coast of windy days, there are up to thirty-five a year. But in the interior of the island of Great Britain, the climate is not so severe, and the wind here does not last longer than a week. The maximum wind speed that was recorded on the island is two hundred twenty-eight kilometers per hour! It happened in February 1989 in Scotland.
About local weather
Let's tell you more about the situation in different parts of the island of Great Britain. The climate in England is the mildest. But there are also disadvantages. For almost half a year the sun is not visible because of the clouds, it often rains, and fogs are not uncommon. It's coldest here inJanuary. But the average temperature usually does not fall below four or five degrees Celsius with a plus sign. But in the warmest time - in July - the street is usually no higher than plus eighteen. It usually rains here from September to January, and most of all in October.
The climate in Wales is also quite mild. The average winter temperature rarely drops below minus five to six degrees Celsius. The negative record here is -23. In summer, the thermometer most often stays within plus fifteen or sixteen. In the central regions, the climate is drier than in the east of the country.
Scotland is the coldest part of the island of Great Britain. The climate here is also quite mild, but still different from other regions. In the mountains, snow often falls in winter, and the average January temperature is minus three degrees Celsius. The warmest time of the year is July. The air here warms up to plus fifteen. You won't sunbathe. But fogs and rains in the region occur up to two hundred and forty days a year. This is especially true for the western regions.
It is impossible not to tell about one more component of the state of Great Britain. The climate in Northern Ireland is not too different from that of Scotland. The temperature of the coldest month (January) here is four to five degrees Celsius. And in July it rarely rises above fifteen or sixteen.
Who "makes" the weather
The peculiarities of the climate of Great Britain are connected, of course, infirst of all with the warm Pacific Gulf Stream. According to scientists, it is because of him that the average temperature here is higher than it should be at this latitude, by about eight degrees. The Gulf Stream stretches for ten thousand kilometers, and the speed of its flow is from three to ten kilometers per hour.
The current carries about 50 million cubic meters of water per second. This is twenty times more than all the rivers of the world. And this stream carries as much heat as a million nuclear power plants would generate.
Another factor that shapes the climate in the British Isles is high- altitude jet streams. The speed of some of them is up to five hundred kilometers per hour. They pass at different heights (from ten to fourteen thousand meters). Some of them carry cold air (these are the so-called polar jet streams). Others are warm. The average speed of the latter is 50 m per second.
Now you know how special the UK climate is. In conclusion, it is necessary to say about some of the consequences of such weather conditions. In the British Isles - a real paradise for growing flowers. This is one of the pluses. Of the minuses: in most houses there is no central heating, and there is only one glass in the double-glazed window. Therefore, in cold winters, the British have to use heating pads.
