Describe and explain the characteristics of the British climate (40)
The purpose of this essay is to describe, with specific reference to highland and lowland regions, the British climate. also an explanation of how air masses, latitude, continentally, and ocean currents can interact to determine the British climate before reaching a conclusion as to the ultimate determining factor.
The climate or average weather conditions in Britain for a protracted period of time can be classified as ‘Temperature Maritime’. This is the climate typical of the west coasts at middle latitudes of most continents, and generally features warm summers and cool winters, with a relatively narrow annual temperature range. In 2014, the UK mean temperature for summer was 14.8°C and in the winter the mean temperature was 5.2°C. In the UK, the average rainfall in the lowlands is a lot lower than the average rainfall in the highlands. the overall total rainfall for 2014 was 1300mm, 113% of the 1981-2010 average.
Highland Britain, lies north of Tees-exe line, is usually colder, in both winter and summer than lowland Britain Manchester is located in highland Britain and is much colder than Brighton, which is located in lowland Britain. The mean maximum temperature in summer between 1981 and 2010 in the UK’s lowlands was 20°C, and the minimum mean temperature was 11°C. In the highlands however, the mean maximum temperature was 15°C and the mean minimum temperature was 8-9°C. in the summer, it was the coldest in the Scottish midlands with a temperature of 5°C. These 4 sets of data show that over a 29 year period, there has been a significant difference in the temperatures of highland and lowland Britain.
Precipitate, both rain and snow. is much greater in highland Britain than lowland Britain. Cardiff is known as Britain’s wettest city, with on average 115cm of rainfall a year. The driest areas occur along the coast such as Southend-On-Sea. It tends to be wetter in the west and...