Weather maps show exact date UK 'colder than Norway' in 2C Polar blast (2024)

FAQs

Why is the UK colder than Europe? ›

Latitude - higher latitudes are colder. With the UK between 50 and 59 degrees north, it receives cooler temperatures than countries in lower latitudes. Continentality. A location's proximity to the sea affects its temperature and how often it rains.

The windier it is, the more our bodies cool and feel the cold. With low pressure to the east of the UK, the northerly wind has been squeezed and strengthened across central and eastern places. Wind chill can effectively halve the actual temperature, so 8°C can feel like 4°C.

Winter climate

Along the coast, temperatures usually stay around zero degrees Celsius. Inland, the temperatures are mostly lower and might sink down to 10-20 degrees below zero Celsius. Some places can even experience an bone chilling minus 40 degrees Celsius!

Today's temperature is forecast to be COOLER than yesterday. Cloudy with showers. High 54F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

A reduction in the temperature difference between the equator and the North Pole due to declining sea ice could potentially reduce the strength of the westerly winds, leading to a greater occurrence of negative NAO and an increase the risk of cold winters. However, warming could also cause air to rise over the Arctic.

Despite this, a lack of sunshine and persistent rain may have contributed to it feeling colder than expected in April month. It was quite a dull month – duller than average, the UK provisionally recorded 79% of the long-term average sunshine duration, with 122.9 hours.

The United Kingdom is generally warmer than Canada during the winter. During the summer the United Kingdom is generally cooler than Canada. During the spring and the autumn there is not much difference. Most of the populated part of Canada is well south of the UK, but colder in the summer and warmer in the winter.

"The reason for this is because we have a stuck weather pattern at the moment caused by high pressure in the Atlantic and low pressure over Scandinavia which has resulted in a consistent feed of air coming in from the cold north or north-west."

Although the UK boasts a variety of landscapes, including the Lake and Peak Districts and rolling farmland, it just cannot match Canada's beauty and expansive rolling landscapes. In addition to having the world's longest coastline, Canada contains over a million rivers and lakes, 48 national parks, and much more.

So, yes, in winter Canada is colder than Scandinavia. Besides, the chilling factor in Canada makes it feel much colder than the temperature indicates.

Is Norway colder than Germany? ›

But keep in mind that because Norway is a lot colder, it also costs more to heat your apartment during those chilly months. Germany has a more moderate climate with colder winters in the north and milder winters in the south.

The country has a very high standard of living compared with other European countries. Norway's modern manufacturing and welfare system rely on a financial reserve produced by exploitation of natural resources, particularly North Sea oil.

Norway does not top the list of the most expensive countries in Europe, moreover, Oslo is no longer on the top 20 list of the most expensive cities in the world, according to Mercer's exhaustive 2023 cost of living city rankings.

It's a safe country

Generally, crime in Norway is very low. It's safe to walk places by yourself, as violent crime is quite rare. Of course there is a difference to living in Oslo, and living in a smaller town in the countryside. You'll even notice, in some towns, people may leave bicycles out and unlocked.

The coldest temperature ever is −51.4 °C (−60.5 °F) in Karasjok Municipality. The warmest month on record was July 1901 in Oslo, with a mean 24-hour temperature of 22.7 °C (72.9 °F)), and the coldest month was February 1966 in Karasjok, with a mean of −27.1 °C (−16.8 °F).

Gulf Stream

In terms of monthly sunshine averages, much of temperate Europe sees considerably less than the northern United States and eastern Asia. The climate of Western Europe is milder in comparison to other areas of the same latitude around the globe due to the influence of the Gulf Stream.

The article explained that there are two roughly equal drivers: (1) Water is a better heat reserve than land, and winds tend to blow eastwards, so Europe gets air warmed by the sea and the US east coat gets colder air that's come from the land.

As for why that is, Dr Raj continued: "The UK can get pretty humid, which means that sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly. [Therefore] the human body finds it harder to keep cool and we get these hot, tropical nights where the temperature doesn't dip so we actually don't get a break from the heat."

In the North Atlantic, the mid-latitude westerlies veer south on the western side of the basin and then swerve north on the eastern side. This waviness brings relatively balmy air up from the south to warm Europe during the winter.