Climate of Wales
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The climate of Wales refers to the weather conditions prevailing in Wales in general or over a long period.
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
has warmer temperatures throughout the year than Northern Ireland and Scotland and has milder winter minima than England, but cooler winter maxima than Northern Ireland. Wales is wetter throughout the year than Northern Ireland and England, but has fewer rainy days than Northern Ireland; meaning that rainfall tends to be more intense. Wales is also drier than Scotland in every month apart from May, June and December, and there are fewer days with rain than in Scotland. Sunshine totals throughout the year are more than that of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but less than that of neighbouring England. May is the sunniest month, averaging 186.8 hours.


Climate


Sunshine

The south-western coast is the sunniest part of Wales, averaging over 1700 hours of sunshine annually, with
Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...
, Pembrokeshire, its sunniest town. The dullest time of year is between November and January and the sunniest between May and August. The least sunny areas are the mountains, some parts of which average less than 1200 hours of sunshine annually.Davies (2008) pp. 148–150


Wind

The prevailing wind is south-westerly. Coastal areas are the windiest, gales occur most often during winter, on average between 15 and 30 days each year, depending on location. Inland, gales average fewer than six days annually.


Daylight hours

Wales experiences long summer days and short winter days result of northerly
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
s (between 53° 43′ N and 51° 38′ N).
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
, at the midpoint of the country's west coast, has nearly 17 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. Daylight at midwinter there falls to just over seven and a half hours.


Geographic variations

The country's wide geographic variations cause localised differences in sunshine, rainfall and temperature. Average annual coastal temperatures reach and in low lying inland areas, lower. It becomes cooler at higher altitudes; annual temperatures decrease on average approximately each of altitude. Consequently, the higher parts of
Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
experience average annual temperatures of .


Temperature

Temperatures in Wales remain higher than would otherwise be expected at its latitude because of the North Atlantic Drift, a branch of the
Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
. The ocean current, bringing warmer water to northerly latitudes, has a similar effect on most of north-west Europe. As well as its influence on Wales' coastal areas, air warmed by the Gulf Stream blows further inland with the prevailing winds. At low elevations, summers tend to be warm and sunny. Average maximum temperatures range between . Winters tend to be fairly wet, but rainfall is rarely excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing. Spring and autumn feel quite similar and the temperatures tend to stay above – also the average annual daytime temperature.


Rainfall

Rainfall patterns show significant variation. The further west, the higher the expected rainfall; up to 40 per cent more. At low elevations, rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although the showers tend to be shorter in summer. The uplands of Wales have most rain, normally more than 50 days of rain during the winter months (December to February), falling to around 35 rainy days during the summer months (June to August). Annual rainfall in Snowdonia averages between (
Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...
) and (
Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
's summit).


Snow

The likelihood is that it will fall as sleet or snow when the temperature falls below and snow tends to be lying on the ground there for an average of 30 days a year. Snow falls several times each winter in inland areas but is relatively uncommon around the coast. Average annual rainfall in those areas can be less than .


Climate data for Wales


Climate chart

This climate chart provides an overview of the climate in Wales during a year period. The letters in the top row stand for months: January, February, etc. The bars and numbers convey the following information: The blue bars represent the amount of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
(rain, snow etc.) that falls in each month. The blue numbers are the amount of precipitation in either millimeters (liters per square meter) or inches. The red numbers are the average daily high and low temperatures for each month, and the red bars represent the average daily temperature span for each month. The thin gray line is 0 °C or 32 °F, the point of freezing, for orientation.


Record temperatures for Wales

Below is a list of record temperatures for Wales according to the UK
Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
.


See also

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Environment Wales {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Environment Wales is a partnership of voluntary organisations in Wales, whose aim it is to contribute to sustainable development, mainly by awarding grants for projects which contribute to this aim. The organisa ...
*
Environmental issues in Wales Various environmental issues are facing Wales, including climate change, pollution and ecosystem loss, and the various policies to address them. Carbon emissions Sources * Energy supply is the largest source * 14% agriculture, including th ...
*
Renewable energy in Wales In 2019, Wales generated 27% of its electricity consumption as renewable electricity, an increase from 19% in 2014. The Welsh Government set a target of 70% by 2030. In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity. It produced 27.9 TWh of electri ...


References

{{Geography of Wales Climate of Wales Climate by country