The Climate of Great Britain

The common ideas people have about the weather in Britain are: "It rains all the time, it's very damp"; "There's a terrible fog in London, just like in Sherlok Holmes'...", "The sun never shines in July or August".

The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore it is natural for the people to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain. When two Englishmen are introduced to each other, if they can't think of any thing else to talk about, they talk about weather. When two people meet in the street they will often say something about weather as they pass, just to show their friendliness.

Fortunately, as Britain does not experience extreme weather conditions, it is never very cold or very hot. The temperature rarely rises above 32°C in summer, or falls below 10°C in winter.

Summers are generally cool, but due to global warming they are starting drier and hotter. Newspapers during a hot spell talk of "heatwaves" and an "Indian summer" (dry, hot weather in September and October). Hot weather causes terrible congestion on the roads as Britons rush to the coastal resorts.

Winters are generally mild, with the most frequent and prolonged snowfalls in the Scottish Highlands, where it is possible to go skiing. If it does snow heavily in other parts of Britain, the country often comes to a standstill. Trains, buses and planes are late. People enjoy discussing the snow, complaining about the cold and comparing the weather conditions with previous winters.

Contrary to popular opinion, it does not rain all the time. There is certainly steady rainfall throughout most of the year, but the months from September to January are the wettest. Thanks to the rain, Britain's countryside is famous for its deep green colour.

Since the 1950's, most British cities have introduced clean air zones. Factories and houses cannot burn coal and must use smokeless fuel.

The dirt caused by smoke used to cause terrible fogs, particularly in London. Such fogs are now a thing of the past, but you can still see them in old films where they add mystery and atmosphere to murder stories and thrillers.

The average temperature in the UK is higher than in other areas at the same latitude. This is due to the influence of the warm Gulf stream. The southern part of the country is warmer and drier than the North. Prevailing Northwest wind blowing from the North Atlantic ocean. Cloudy days per year - more than 50 %. Possible strong winds and floods.

Great Britain has a temperate oceanic climate with lots of rain throughout the year. Temperatures vary with season, but rarely fall below -11°C or rises above 35 °C.

The main winds are from the southwest and often bring cold and wet weather from the Atlantic ocean[3], however, the Eastern part of the country largely protected from these winds, and because the bulk of the precipitation falls in the Western regions, the Eastern are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf stream, bring mild winters, sometimes in the winter and early spring snowfalls, but the snow usually is short- lived.