1. Today we will be able to:
 Identify the rainy and dry regions of the British
Isles
 The warm and cool regions of the British Isles
in
(a) summer,
(b) in winter

2. 1. Why western Britain is wetter than the east
2. Why the west is warmest in winter
3. Why the south is warmest in summer
4. Effects of the angle of the Sun’s rays
on temperature
5. How height affects temperature

3. Sun lower in sky
Same amount of energy but
has to heat larger surface
So it feels cooler
Sun high in sky
energy heats concentrated
on smaller surface
So it feels warmer

4. This is explained by latitude and the
curve of the Earth
Latitude measures the angle of a place
from the equator
The smaller the angle, the closer to the
equator
This means that the sun is at a higher
angle in the sky
Its rays are more concentrated
The land heats up more
In places further north, the sun is at a
lower angle in the sky
the rays are more spread out.
The land is cooler
Examples
London 51 N
Glasgow 56 N (rounded up)
Shetland Isles 60 N

5. 1. Influence of water
• The west is near the Atlantic Ocean
• This cools down more slowly than
land during the winter, so…
• It is warmer than the land
2. Warm ocean current
• A warm current called the North
Atlantic Drift washes along the west
coast
• Westerly winds blow over the warm
ocean
• Bringing milder weather to the west
2 reasons….

6. Influence of water
• In summer the Atlantic
Ocean heats up more
slowly than land
• The west coast is near the
Atlantic and so…
• It feels cooler.

7. Why is western Britain wetter than the east?
Prevailing wind- direction the wind most commonly comes from (In
British Isles-W or SW)
Condensation –water vapour in air turns to water droplets, that form
clouds

8. Wetter in the
(a)west and north
Because:
1. Rain comes from moist westerly
winds
2. West gets full force of these winds
3. They drop their rain here
4. Upland areas get “Relief Rain”
drier in the south
and east because
Most rain has
already fallen,
and air is much
“drier”

10. Snow line
Temperatures fall
by 1 C every
100m
Atmosphere is
thinner in
mountains, so
less air to heat
up, so it is
colder