WEATHER:
England has a
temperate maritime climate: it is mild with temperatures not much lower than
0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than
32 °C (90 °F) in summer.
[123] The weather is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the
English coast, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October.
[123] Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year.
Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northern
latitude and the warming of the sea by the
Gulf Stream.
[123] Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the
Lake District receive more rain than anywhere else in the country.
[123] Since weather records began, the highest temperature recorded was
38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 10 August 2003 at
Brogdale in
Kent,
[124] while the lowest was
−26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 in
Edgmond,
Shropshire.
[125]
NATURAL RESOURCES:
Land use: 25% arable, 46% meadows and pastures, 10% forests and woodland, 19% other.
Natural resources: Coal, oil, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica.
Agriculture (0.8% of GDP; U.K. Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2009): Products--cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables, cattle, sheep, poultry, fish.
Activity:
Read and share in class...