Europe lies almost entirely in temperate latitudes\. It climate, by and large, is cool and temperate. But the influence of the sea, the warm North Atlantic Drift and the westerly winds is so marked on larger portion of the continent that the climate has been modified, making it warmer and more pleasant for its latitudes.
Europe is, indeed, a peninsula of peninsulas and there are many inlets and seas penetrating into the continent from the west. Thus, the moderating effect of the ocean is experienced quite deep in to Europe. The warm waters of the north Atlantic Drift help to keep the western coast of Europe much warmer than places in similar latitudes in eastern Canada and north –eastern Asia.
Almost the entire continent of Europe lies in the track of the west relies. These permanent winds cause a fairly well- distributed rainfall all the year round in the western parts of Europe. The amount of annual rainfall decreases as distance from the Atlantic Ocean increases towards the east.
The Artic and sub-Arctic and sub-artic climate are found in the northern parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. The winters are long and extremely cold. The summers are brief but warm with a very high range of temperature. There is some rain in summer. The winter season lasts for more than six months during which it snows. The ground remains covered with snow during winters.
The west European climate is found in the north-western lands of the continent i.e. northern Spain, western France, British Isles, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Western Europe remains under the influence of the warm moist winds blowing over the North Atlantic Drift bring oceanic or maritime effect. Hence he west European climate is called oceanic or maritime climate. As a result of maritime effect, winters are cool and not cold. Summers are warm and there is only almost throughout the year.
The central European climate is found towards the east of the above regions. It is marked by warmer summers and cooler winters. This is due to the decreasing influence of the ocean. It rains throughout the year in these parts also but summers have a little more rain than winters. This climate, also called temperate interior climate, is found in countries of Central Europe extending from eastern France to the Black sea and northwards into Sweden.
The eastern European climate is found in the eastern part of Poland, Finland, parts of the Czech and Slovak Republic and most of European Russia and the states of Byelorussia, the Baltic States, Moldavia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia. These regions are devoid of ocean influence. This climate is also called continental climate. Summers in it are warm and winters are very cold. The variation of temperature is very large. Rainfall is low and most of it falls in summer.
The Mediterranean climate is experienced around the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy, and in Greece, summers here are hot and dry while winters are mild and wet. The amount of rainfall decreases from west to east in these regions.