Smaller areas may experience special climatic conditions of their own. These local climates are influenced by altitude and aspect.
Altitude and local climate
Altitude means height above sea level. The higher a place is, the colder its climate will be. Temperatures decrease by roughly 1 degree Celsius for every 150 metres climbed. This decrease in temperature is called the lapse rate.
Ireland’s landscape is a mixture of reasonably flat land in the midlands and mountainous areas on the coastline. If we compare the landscape map of Ireland on the left with the map displaying average temperatures across the country on the right, a connection between altitude and temperature can be seen.
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11 12 °C
10
Relatively flat land Mountainous land
Increased (higher) altitude also increases chances of rainfall. Annual amounts of precipitation increase by between 100 mm and 200 mm on exposed slopes for every 100 m rise in altitude.
What can you note about altitude and temperature by comparing these two maps?
