CLIMATES IN SPAIN

Spain has four different types of climate:

• The Oceanic climate. This is the mild climate on the Cantabrian and Galician coasts. Rainfall is abundant all year.
• The Mediterranean climate. This is the climate of most of Spain. In inland Spain, summers are hot and winters are cold. Rainfall is irregular. Near the sea, summers are hot and winters are mild. Rainfall is light.
• The Mountain climate. This is the climate of the elevated areas. Summers are mild and winters are cold. Rainfall is irregular.
• The Subtropical climate. This is the climate of the Canary Islands. It is hot all year round. It only rains a few months of the year.

THE EARTH'S CLIMATE

The distance of an area fron the Equator determines how much heat it receives from the Sun.
The Earth has three climatic zones:

• The tropical zones. They are near the Equator. It is very hot all year round.
• The temperate zones. These are in both hemispheres. The summers are warm and the winters are cool. In some regions, it is rainy all year round. In other regions, it is dry and sunny in the summer.
• The polar zones. It is very cold all year round.

CLIMATE

Weather refers to temperature, wind and precipitation at a particular time and place.
Climate is the typical weather pattern in one area over a long time.