In this post I will be discussing the controls of temperature in the capital city of France. The capital of this country is Paris who's latitude and longitude are 48.8567° N, 2.3508° E. The warmest month in Paris is July with 79 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). The coldest month is January with 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius). Based on this temperature information, the annual range of temperature in Paris is 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius).
https://www.google.com/#q=warmest+month+in+paris
One control of the temperature of France that keeps it relatively temperate is the ocean currents. even though France is a higher latitude it does not experience extremely cold winters or unbearably hot summers. this is due to the gulf stream which brings up warmer southern waters near south western Europe.
One temperature control that does not affect Paris is latitude. although normally higher altitude places have extreme seasons however Paris does not. For example Paris is the same altitude as parts of Canada, however Canada has extremely cold winters and Paris does not, therefore it is not affected by its latitude. in other words it seems the effect of the gulf stream cancels out the effect that we would expect to see because of Paris's latitude.
This might be a long shot but, Paris may be due for colder weather in the future. Because of the melting ice caps there is more fresh water being pumped into the ocean. One factor that drives the gulf stream is a salinity difference between the ocean layers of cold dense water and warm water. I learned last semester in an Oceanography class that there are theories that say that if enough fresh water is pumped into that system, the gulf stream (and other ocean currents) may shut down. With out the warm water travelling up to France Paris may see an increase in the effect of its latitude on its temperatures. However once another period of freezing were to occur and there was an increase in salinity again the currents would re-establish themselves.
I have learned that different places are affected differently by some or all temperature controls such as latitude ocean currents, land ocean interactions, and more. Paris is temperate because of ocean currents, despite its relatively high latitude.
France's average temperatures are for the most part common to China's temperate region. The main difference would be the amount of rainfall. China receives much of it's rainfall during the summer months compared to the fall and winter months for France. I attribute the difference mostly to the difference of ocean boundaries, where China has an eastern boundary with the Pacific Ocean compared to France's western boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally France, being much smaller doesn't have any subtropical climates or sub-arctic climates except in the mountains.
ReplyDeleteFinally I think the canyon at the Gorge du Verdon is picturesque. You might, one day, want to visit China's Laoniu-Wan, a beautiful canyon of our Yellow River, which is just west of Beijing and can be viewed from our Great Wall.