Climate

Britain is as far north as Siberia. For example Edinburgh is 56 degrees north of the equator, the same latitude as Moscow, yet its climate is generally mild and temperate because of the Gulf Stream, which brings warm water and air across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico. The climate in the UK is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.

The weather is so changeable that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather. Therefore it is natural for them 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 the UK. As the weather changes with the wind, and Britain is visited by winds from different parts of the world, the most characteristic feature of Britain’s weather is its variability.

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 it 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. The wind brings rain from the Atlantic to the hills of the west. This means that the western parts of Britain are wetter than the east, which is fairly sheltered. London is drier than continental cities such as Hamburg. Its weather may be unpredictable, but it is not particularly wet. The northern mountains have much more rain and snow. More generally, the southern part of England and Wales are a little warmer, sunnier and less misty than the rest. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 25 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 5 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, snow does not remain for long, except in the Scottish mountains, where skiing is possible; frost is rare. January and August are the warmest. Still the wind may bring wintercold in spring or summer. 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 cold, too wet or dry. 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. 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 hot-water bottles are used.

Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife

The USA is a very large country, so it has several different climate zones. The coldest regions are in the north and north-east, where much snow falls in winter. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mixico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. The region around the Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather. In general, the climate in North America is much colder than in Europe and the average annual temperature of New York, for example, is 11°C.

In the East the principal trees are spruce, poplar, birch and fir. The Northern Appalachians and the upper Great Lakes region are dominated by mixed forests of birch, beech, maple, hemlock, and pine. Much of southern Florida and the lower Mississippi River valley are covered by marsh grasses. In the Western mountains on the lower slopes are open woodlands. The warm-winter desert areas of Southwest support much cactus. The Pacific Northwest has dense coniferous forests with fir, hemlock, and spruce among the principal trees. Northwestern California has dense stands of giant redwoods (sequoias) along the coast.

Throughout Midwest and in much of Texas the native vegetation has been largely removed to make way for agriculture.

The animal population of the United States was both numerous and prolific in aboriginal times. Since the advent of the white man, with his firearms and with his need of land for agriculture, the animal population has been greatly reduced. Whole species have been exterminated, or preserved in other than the wild state.

The northeastern forests abounded in animals of all kinds and sizes. Deer, recoons, skunks, grey and red squirrels, black bears, rabbits and hares, beavers, minks, and moles were common. Great flocks of birds were present, including migratory wild fowl. Reptiles included turtles, salamanders, and several species of snakes.

In the forests of the Southeast opossums abounded and along the coasts were alligators and sea cows. Crocodiles were present in the extreme south of Florida. Great numbers of large birds, such as the flamingo, the whooping crane, were common in the swamps and marshes.

The Interior Plains had vast herds of grazing animals, especially bisons (“buffaloes”) and antelopes. The higher mountains of the West were the home of the mountain sheep, mountain goat, grizzly bear, marmot, and rock rabbit.

The deserts have a highly specialized world, equipped to avoid heat and reduce water losses to a minimum, like the sidewinder rattlesnake, which keeps much of its body off the ground to avoid contact with that searing surface.