3º ESO. Units 6 & 7: Britain's climate.

Activity: fill the gaps with the information from your book.

Britain has a variable climate because weather changes from day to day and to forecast it accurately is difficult. Britain’s climate characteristics are 1……. winters, cool summers and rain spread evenly throughout the year. This type of climate never has any extremes (it is never too cold or too hot and rarely too wet or too dry) and for this reason is called equable or 2…………..

Britain’s climate varies between the north and south, and east and west.

Temperature

Most of the British Isles lies between latitudes 3………………………………….. This is far from the Equator, so the sun is only powerful enough to give moderate average temperatures. Winters, though, are much warmer than expected for such a high latitude

Winter

• Temperatures in winter are highest in the 4……….. and decrease 5……………………. This is caused by a warm ocean current called 6………………………………, which warms west coasts. Another reason is that the prevailing south-westerly winds blow across the relatively warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean raising west coast temperatures.

• Temperatures are highest in south-west England. This is mainly because the area is almost surrounded by the sea which in winter is 7………….. than the land.

Summer

• Temperatures in summer are highest in the south and decrease 8……………………. This is mainly because the sun is at a higher angle in the sky in the south, providing more heat.

• Temperatures inland are higher than those near the coast. This is because land warms up quickly in summer while 9…………… remains cool keeping temperatures in coasts relatively low.

Rainfall

             The annual rainfall totals are highest in the 10……………………. (especially of Scotland) and decrease rapidly to the 11………………………... Reasons for this are:

•   Mainly because the prevailing winds are from the west and are laden with 12………… when they blow landwards from the 13 .....................   

•  Most rain-bearing depressions approach from the west, so 14 ....... receive more rain.
•  North-west Scotland is particularly wet because high land receives 15…………………

There is also a contrast in the seasonal distribution of rainfall:

• Places in the west receive most rain in winter because of 16…………………………….. Depressions approaching the British Isles from the south-west are more frequent in winter.

• Places in the east get most rain in summer. Britain is too cool for 17…………………… apart from places in the east and southeast which have the highest summer temperatures. Thus, July is often the wettest month in the east of Britain due to this type of 18…………..