climate (fig. 10). The winter rains do not bring continuously overcast skies, and a summer month with a mean cloudiness of 10% is not exceptional in the drier parts of the sub-tropics.
 |
Fig. 10.—Annual March of Cloudiness in a |
With prevailing fair skies, even temperatures, and moderate rainfall, the sub-tropical belts possess many climatic advantages which fit them for health resorts. The long list of well-known resorts on the Mediterranean coast, and the shorter list for California, bear witness to this fact.
North Temperate Zone: West Coasts.—Marine climatic types are carried by the prevailing westerlies on to the western coasts of the continents, giving them mild winters and cool summers, abundant rainfall, and a high degree of cloudiness and relative humidity. North-western Europe is particularly favoured because of the remarkably high temperatures of the North Atlantic Ocean. January means of 40° to 50° in the British Isles and on the northern French coast occur in the same latitudes as those of 0° and 10° in the far interior of Asia. In July means 60° to 70° in the former contrast with 70° to 80° in the latter districts. The conditions are somewhat similar in North America. Along the western coasts of North America and of Europe the mean annual ranges are under 25°—actually no greater than some of those within the tropics. Irregular cyclonic temperature changes are, however, marked in the temperate zone, while absent in the tropics. The curves for the Scilly Isles and for Thorshavn, Faröe Islands, illustrate the insular type of temperature on the west coasts (fig. 11). The annual march of rainfall, with the marked maximum in the fall and winter which is characteristic of the marine regime, is illustrated in the curve for north-western Europe (fig. 12). On the northern Pacific coast of North America the distribution is similar, and in the southern hemisphere the western coasts of southern South America, Tasmania and New Zealand show the same type. The cloudiness and relative humidity average high on western coasts, with the maximum in the colder season.
 | ||
| Fig. 11.—Annual March of Temperature for Selected Stations in the Temperate Zones. | ||
| S. I., Scilly Isles. | S, Semipalatinsk. | Sa, Sakhalin. |
| P,Prague. | K, Kiakta. | T, Thorshavn. |
| C, Charkow. | B, Blagovyeshchensk. | Y, Yakutsk. |
The west coasts therefore, including the important climatic province of western Europe, and the coast provinces of north-western North America, New Zealand and southern Chile, have as a whole mild winters, equable temperatures, small ranges, and abundant rainfall, fairly well distributed through the year. The summers are relatively cool.
Continental Interiors.—The equable climate of the western coasts changes, gradually or suddenly, into the more extreme climates of the interiors. In Europe, where no high mountain ranges intervene, the transition is gradual, and broad stretches of country have the benefits of the tempering influence of 
Fig. 12.—Annual March of Rainfall: Temperate Zone. C.E. Central Europe; A. Northern Asia; N.A. Atlantic coast of North America; N.W.E. North-west Europe.the
