WEATHER AND CLIMATE 17 



Before beginning observations in detail of the local changes of 

 wind, it may be well to re-emphasise the fact that Great Britain 

 is an island, and that the proverbial changeableness of our weather 

 is in part related to this fact. Tell stories or read passages of 

 books which give accounts of the constancy of the weather in the 

 great continents, of the winds which blow in the same direction 

 day after day and week after week. Tell how in Asia especially 

 the hot land in summer sucks in the air from the sea, while in winter 

 the warmer sea sucks out the air from the cold land, so that in 

 both cases there is great constancy of wind direction. Compare 

 with this the preliminary observations which have been made, 

 which show that although winds with a westerly direction pre- 

 dominate here yet our winds show great variation, and this at all 

 times of the year. 



In passing suggest one or two of the more obvious facts about 

 our winds. We have already noticed that our hottest days in 

 summer are often days when the wind, though very light, is 

 easterly in direction. Now that we have learnt about the differ- 

 ences in temperature of continents and seas, we note that the 

 reason is probably that the east wind is then coming to us from 

 the hot plains of continental Europe. This suggests to us also 

 that one reason why the east wind is so bitterly cold in early 

 spring may be that it is then coming from the snow-covered plains 

 of the continent. Similarly, the strong south-west wind of winter 

 must be mild because it is coming from the relatively warm sea 

 to the west of us. 



Again, if our winds are most often westerly, it is probable that 

 somewhere to the west of us the pressure is nearly permanently 

 low. Some of the above statements, as all those who have studied 

 meteorology know, are only partially true, but as our object is not 

 to give the school child a profound knowledge of meteorology but 

 only to awaken interest, they are justifiable as partial explanations 

 of the facts of observation. Our object, before proceeding to the 

 special study of the local winds and their causes, is to emphasise 

 the fact that we live in a region of variable winds, as opposed to 

 many regions where there is great constancy. As winds have 

 much to do with the amount of rain, the inconstancy of our winds 

 is closely related to the general inconstancy of our weather, 



VOL. VI. 2 



