Climate and weather.

Rainfall all the year round Winter in London

The climate of any place depends on a number of factors, among which the most important are latitude, distance from the sea, relief and the direction of winds.

Britain has mild and temperate climate, which is dominated by marine influences. Britain’s climate is much milder than that in any other country in the same latitude. This is due partly to the presence of the North Atlantic Drift which begins as the Gulf Stream in the Gulf of Mexico, crosses the Atlantic Ocean and reaches the shore of Europe as a warm current.

Besides, warm winds blowing over the Atlantic have a similar effect and at the same time carry large amount of moisture. They are as wet as warm.

Britain’s climate is generally one of mild winters and cool summers, with rain throughout the year.

The sea, whose waters have a higher specific heat than rocks of the land surface, warms up more slowly than the land does. That’s why in summer the land tends to be warmer than the sea, and in winter the converse is true.

Relief is the most important factor controlling the distribution of temperature and precipitation within Britain. The actual temperatures, in the hilly and mountainous parts are considerably lower than those in the lowlands. As to the precipitation the mountainous areas of west and north have far more rainfall than the lowlands of the south and east.

Summer in London Golden autumn in the Lake District

October is usually the wettest month, July is the hottest and January is the coldest. The coasts are never troubled with ice and they don’t have much snow there.

In spring the weather is generally mild but sometimes they get really cold days. Summer is not so hot as on the continent and warm days in autumn are beautiful.

In winter they have all sorts of weather. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows, and they also have fog and frost.

But the worst thing about the climate in Britain is thick fog they often have in autumn or winter. In London it’s sometimes so thick that cars may run into one another. You can hardly see your feet. You can’t even see your hand stretched out before your face.

The weather is for the English a common subject for conversation, a traditional joke. Its only constant feature is its changeability. “We haven’t got climate, we have got only samples of weather”, runs an English saying. In Britain you can never have the same kind of weather for a long time. You leave home hatless and coatless in fine autumn sunshine, and arrive at the office in pouring rain.

The English weather is moody but not unbearable. In this case they say, ”There is no bad weather, there are bad clothes.” You can never have a definite idea of what is going to come, but you are sure about it in your mind – it will be a case of bringing umbrellas with you always!