Questions people actually ask

Climate zones are areas with distinct climates. They can follow weather patterns, latitude, or communities of plants and animals. Met Office: Climate zones There are many climate classification systems, each drawing its zones from different climate factors. Met Office: Climate zones

The big difference between weather and climate is time: weather is hours or days, climate is years or decades. Met Office: What is climate? A region’s climate is usually worked out over 30 years of weather. Met Office: What is climate?

Köppen sorts climates into five main groups: tropical (A), dry (B), temperate (C), continental (D) and polar (E). Met Office: Climate zones

Much of the UK is Cfb: temperate (C), with no dry season (f) and a warm summer (b). Met Office: Climate zones

Wladimir Köppen lived from 1846 to 1940. NOAA calls him a German climatologist and amateur botanist. NOAA JetStream: Climate zones The climatologist Wladimir Köppen first developed his climate classification in 1884, and scientists all over the world still use versions of it. Met Office: Climate zones Köppen wanted his climate boundaries to line up with the vegetation zones (biomes) that were being mapped for the first time in his lifetime. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification

High-pressure bands sit at about 30° north and south and at each pole; low-pressure bands at the equator and at 50–60°. NOAA JetStream: Global atmospheric circulations Sinking air on either side of the tropics makes near-permanent high pressure over the subtropics. Skies stay almost cloud-free all year, and deserts form. Met Office: Climate zones

The UK is at the same latitude as most of Canada but has a much milder climate, thanks to the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic. Met Office: Climate zones Without the Gulf Stream, the UK’s climate would be much colder. Met Office blog: What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect UK weather?

A microclimate is a small area with a different climate from its surroundings, caused by things like lakes, hills or buildings. Met Office: Climate zones Cities make their own microclimates: buildings and hard surfaces soak up heat by day, creating an urban heat island. Met Office: Climate zones

Mountains block moving air. The drier side downwind is called a rain shadow. Encyclopaedia Britannica: highland climate

If the warmest month averages between 0 °C and 10 °C, it is tundra: too short a growing season for trees, so dwarf shrubs, grasses and small plants instead. Met Office: Climate zones Tundra animals include reindeer, musk ox and Arctic hare. Met Office: Climate zones

As the climate warms, the map of climate zones will change too. Met Office: Climate zones For the precise, up-to-date map of the zones and how they will change, the Met Office points to a 2018 paper by Beck and colleagues. Met Office: Climate zones

Britannica describes the Isle of Man’s climate as maritime temperate, with cool summers and mild winters. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isle of Man The Isle of Man’s average mean temperature is 4.9 °C in February and 14.3 °C in August. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isle of Man Its average yearly rainfall is about 1,140 mm. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isle of Man