Climate
Because of its position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental. Climatic conditions are somewhat modified by the country's varied relief. The Carpathians serve as a barrier to Atlantic air masses, restricting their oceanic influences to the west and center of the country, where they make for milder winters and heavier rainfall. The mountains also block the continental influences of the vast plain to the north in Ukraine, which bring frosty winters and less rain to the south and southeast. In the extreme southeast, Mediterranean influences offer a milder, maritime climate. The average annual temperature is 11 °C (51.8 °F) in the south and 8 °C (46.4 °F) in the north. In Bucharest, the temperature ranges from −29 °C (−20.2 °F) in January to 29 °C (84.2 °F) in July, with average temperatures of −3 °C (26.6 °F) in January and 23 °C (73.4 °F) in July. Rainfall, although adequate throughout the country, decreases from west to east and from mountains to plains. Some mountainous areas receive more than 1,010 mm (39.8 in) of precipitation each year. Annual precipitation averages about 635 mm (25 in) in central Transylvania, 521 mm (20.5 in) at Iaşi in Moldavia, and only 381 mm (15 in) at Constanţa on the Black Sea.
Temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Winters generally are from November to March. The springs are short, occasionally turning right into summer. Summer lasts from May to August. They have a prolonged Autumn, from September to November. The average January temperature is 34 °F (1.1 °C) and the average July temperature is 69 °F (20.6 °C). Facts: Record High Temperature: 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) - August 10, 1951 South-Eastern Romania; Record Low Temperature: −38.5 °C (−37.3 °F) - January 24, 1942 (Central Romania)
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Romania
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“The climate has been described as “ten months winter and two months mighty late in the fall.””
—Administration in the State of Colo, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“A tree is beautiful, but what’s more, it has a right to life; like water, the sun and the stars, it is essential. Life on earth is inconceivable without trees. Forests create climate, climate influences peoples’ character, and so on and so forth. There can be neither civilization nor happiness if forests crash down under the axe, if the climate is harsh and severe, if people are also harsh and severe.... What a terrible future!”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)