THE CLIMATE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 27 1 



It appears, then, that the inhabitants of England 

 enjoy three notable advantages as respects climate. 

 First, a higher mean annual temperature than that of 

 any other country so far from the equator ; secondly, 

 a moderate degree of cold in winter; and lastly, a 

 moderate degree of heat in summer. The last two 

 advantages resolve themselves into one, viz., small 

 range 6f temperature throughout the year. Our range 

 of climate is from about 36 in winter to 62^- in 

 summer, or in all, 26^ Fahrenheit. Compare with 

 this the climate of the country near Lake Winnipeg, 

 with a winter cold of 4 below zero, and a summer heat 

 scarcely inferior to that of London ; so that the range 

 of climate is no less than 65. Yet more remarkable 

 is the variation of climate in parts of Siberia, near 

 Yakutsk ; here the range is from 40 in winter to 

 62 in summer a variation of 102, or four times the 

 variation of our London climate. Other parts of the 

 British Isles have, however, a yet smaller range even 

 than that of London. Thus in the south-western parts 

 of Ireland, and in the Orkney Isles, the variation is less 

 than 19. 



Nor is it difficult to assign sufficient reasons for the 

 mildness of the British climate for our warm winters 

 and cold summers. It will appear, on examination, 

 that nearly all the constant causes affecting the tem- 

 perature of a climate operate to raise the mean tem- 

 perature of our year, while, of variable causes those 

 which tend to generate increased heat operate in 



