Climate
The Falkland Islands have a maritime climate in the transition region between the temperate and subarctic zones (Köppen classifications Cfb and Cfc respectively) which is characterised by both low seasonal and diurnal temperature ranges and no marked wet and dry season while in the sub-arctic zone the average monthly maximum temperature exceeds 10 °C (50 °F) for no more than four months of the year and the average monthly minimum does not drop below −3 °C (27 °F). The Falkland Islands climate is very much influenced by both the cool ocean currents and the shielding effect of the Andes.
The cold Antarctic Coastal Current flows in an easterly direction around Cape Horn where part of it is diverted northwards as the Falklands Current. Subsurface temperatures in the vicinity of the Falklands are of the order of 6°C. The Falklands Current meets the warm South Brazilian Current at about 40°S, some 1,000 km (620 mi) north of the islands. The prevailing winds at the Falklands' latitude are the westerlies that gather moisture across the Pacific Ocean, but the Andes form a 4,000 m (13,000 ft) barrier causing a rain shadow across the Patagonia and to a lesser extent, the Falkland Islands.
The January average maximum temperature is about 13°C (55°F), and the July maximum average temperature is about 4°C (39°F). The rainfall varies between 300 mm in parts of Lafonia to 1400 mm in the mountain ranges with an average annual rainfall of 573 mm. Humidity and winds, however, are constantly high. Snow is rare but can occur at almost any time of year. Gales are very frequent, particularly in winter.
In addition to parts of the Falklands, a maritime subarctic climatic zone is found in parts of coastal Iceland, Faroe Islands, north western coastal Norway, southern islands of Alaska and parts of the Alaskan Panhandle, the southern tip of South America and mountainous areas of Europe including the Scottish Highlands and south-western Norway.
| Climate data for Stanley, Falkland Islands | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 24 (75) |
23 (73) |
21 (70) |
17 (63) |
14 (57) |
11 (52) |
10 (50) |
11 (52) |
15 (59) |
18 (64) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
24 (75) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 13 (55) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
9 (48) |
7 (45) |
5 (41) |
4 (39) |
5 (41) |
7 (45) |
9 (48) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
8.9 (48.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6 (43) |
5 (41) |
4 (39) |
3 (37) |
1 (34) |
−1 (30) |
−1 (30) |
−1 (30) |
1 (34) |
2 (36) |
3 (37) |
4 (39) |
2.2 (35.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1 (30) |
−1 (30) |
−3 (27) |
−6 (21) |
−7 (19) |
−11 (12) |
−9 (16) |
−11 (12) |
−11 (12) |
−6 (21) |
−3 (27) |
−2 (28) |
−11 (12) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 71 (2.8) |
58 (2.28) |
64 (2.52) |
66 (2.6) |
66 (2.6) |
53 (2.09) |
51 (2.01) |
51 (2.01) |
38 (1.5) |
41 (1.61) |
51 (2.01) |
71 (2.8) |
681 (26.81) |
| % humidity | 78 | 79 | 82 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 80 | 75 | 77 | 82.8 |
| Source: BBC Weather | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Geography Of The Falkland Islands
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“The climate of Ohio is perfect, considered as the home of an ideal republican people. Climate has much to do with national character.... A climate which permits labor out-of-doors every month in the year and which requires industry to secure comfort—to provide food, shelter, clothing, fuel, etc.—is the very climate which secures the highest civilization.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are layed waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever.... Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Certainly parents play a crucial role in the lives of individuals who are intellectually gifted or creatively talented. But this role is not one of active instruction, of teaching children skills,... rather, it is support and encouragement parents give children and the intellectual climate that they create in the home which seem to be the critical factors.”
—David Elkind (20th century)