Climate and Nature of Great Britain

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.

British people say: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."

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.

Every daily paper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and television give the weather forecast several times each day.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when in rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say "It's raining cats and dogs".

Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In the mountains there is heavier rainfall then in the plains of the south and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 15 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, the frost is rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold in spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings the whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.

So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is humid cold, not the dry one.

This humid and mild climate is good for plants. The trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.

In the British homes there has been no central heating up till recently. The fireplaces are often used. but the coal is not used as it's very expensive. Britain has no good coal now and imports it itself. Many schools and universities have no central heating either, and the floors there are made of stone. The British bedroom is especially cold, sometimes electric blankets or hotwater bottles are used.

Climate of Ukraine

The climate of Ukraine is determined by its geographical location. Ukraine's territory lies in the temperate belt. In general the country's climate is climate is temperately continental, being subtropical only on the southern coast of the Crimea. The differences in climate are caused by many factors: the latitude, relief, altitude and proximity to seas and oceans. A characteristic feature of the climate is an increase in its continental nature from west to east.

A feature of Ukraine's climate is the considerable fluctuation in weather conditions from year to year. Alongside very wet years there can be droughts, whose effect increases to the south and east. There are frequent oscillations in weather in the regions of the Crimean and Carpathian Mountains.

On the southern coast of the Crimea the climate is subtropical Mediterranean, inasmuch as the Crimean Mountains obstruct the movement of cold Arctic air to the coast. These climatic features have contributed to the creation of the one of the best resort areas in Ukraine.

Winter is rather cold in Ukraine. There is much snow in the northern and western parts of the country. Average temperature of January is 7-8 degrees below zero.

It often rains in the Carpathian Mountains. In the south and east the weather is dry especially in summer.

The average yearly temperature in Ukraine varies between +5.5...+7 C in the north and +11...+13C in the south.

In Zaporozhye region the climate is close to continental. We have hot summers and cool winters without heavy snowfalls and frosts. In spring and autumn the climate is moderate.

They say the climate in Ukraine like anywere else is getting milder with every coming year. It depends on many reasons.