90 CLIMATAL CONDITIONS. ch. iv. 



the summer heat is greatly in excess of the limits that 

 suit delicate constitutions, ihe mean of the three hottest 

 months being about 80° Fahr. at Algiers, about 82° at 

 Funchal, and 85° at Cairo. It will help to complete the 

 impression as to the Mogador climate to say, that rain falls 

 on an average on forty-five days in the year ; and that, 

 per 1,000 observations on the state of the sky, the propor- 

 tions are 



Clear 785 ; Clouded 175 ; Foggy 40 : 



the latter entry referring to days when a fog or thick haze 

 prevails in the morning, but disappears before mid-day. 

 The desert wind is scarcely felt at Mogador. On an 

 average it blows on about two days in each year, and on 

 these rare occasions it has much less effect on the ther- 

 mometer than it has in Madeira, doubtless owing to the 

 protective effect of the chain of the Great Atlas. 



These remarkable climatal conditions have been mainly 

 attributed to the influence of the north-east trade wind, 

 which sets along the coast, and prevails, especially in 

 summer, throughout a great part of the year ; the average 

 of north and north-east winds being about 271 days out 

 of 365. West and south-west winds blow chiefly in winter 

 on about fifty-seven days in each year, and variable winds 

 from the remaining foxu- points prevail on an average of 

 thirty-seven days. The north-east breeze, increasing in 

 force as the sun approaches the meridian, maintains the 

 exceptionally cool summer temperature already indicated 

 as characteristic of the Mogador climate — a privilege which 

 is not shared by Saffi or Mazagan, where the summer heat 

 is sometimes excessive. It must be noted that although 

 the summer temperature of the interior of Marocco is 

 much higher than that of Mogador, it yet falls far short 

 of what is found in places lying in the same latitude in 

 North Africa or Asia. This is evidently owing to the 

 influence of the Great Atlas chain, with its branches that 

 diverge northward towards the Mediterranean, which 



