British Climate
The British climate is a temperate climate. Situated about half way between the equator and the poles, it is usually characterised by pleasant if changeable weather conditions. Summers are normally not too hot with the highest temperatures rarely rising above 32°C except perhaps in the southeast. Winters are generally mild, influenced by the warm air that comes from the Atlantic Ocean. Frosts are common but the temperature rarely falls below -10°C. The difference between the average summer and winter temperature in most parts of Britain (including both day and night time temperatures) is only about 12°C. In some parts of Russia, for example Siberia, this difference can be as much as 40°C.
Different parts of the British Isles receive different amounts of rainfall. More falls in the west and north, particular in Scotland, the Lake District and Wales, where hills and mountains increase the amount of rain received. In some parts of Scotland it can rain or snow on as many as 300 days in a year. In East Anglia by contrast, rainfall is much lower, and dry summers can receive very little rainfall indeed.
The British Isles lie in the path of bad weather systems called depressions that come in from the Atlantic. These bring wind and rain, but usually mild air, unless this veers around to the north. For this reason, the climate of the British Isles can change from one day to the next.
| British winter temperatrue |
| British summer temperature |
| British yearly rainfall |
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