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Climate Change: North Atlantic Comparisons

Environmental Conditions in the North Atlantic

2.22 The study countries lie on the north and northwest periphery of Europe. The region has a characteristically maritime climate across Iceland, Ireland, western Scotland and Norway, which becomes increasingly polar and continental to the north and east in Finland. The North Atlantic Ocean currents maintain a warmer climate in the study countries than would be expected for their latitudes, which stretch from 50° N to within a few hundred miles of the North Pole in Svalbard. The annual variation in temperature and precipitation is shown in Figure 2.6 for the capital city in each country, along with three locations in Scotland representing the climatic variation across Scotland.

Figure 2.6 Annual variation in monthly maximum and minimum temperature (solid lines) and precipitation (bars) for key locations in the study countries compared to three contrasting sites in Scotland.

2.23 Land use in the study countries also provides an illustration of the present state of the environment. The extensive forested areas of Norway, Sweden and Finland contrast starkly with the arable nature of Denmark and the rough pasture of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Figure 2.8 Land use in the study countries

Source: OECD, 1999; Northern Ireland Statistics, 1999.

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