The Climate of Norway
Mainland Norway shows a complex combination of physical factors leading to various climate settings. Due to the huge extension in north–south direction from 57° 58′ N to 71° 11′ N, Norway encompasses five climate zones according to the Köppen classificati
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The Climate of Norway Gunnar Ketzler, Wolfgang Römer, and Achim A. Beylich
Abstract
Keywords
Mainland Norway shows a complex combination of physical factors leading to various climate settings. Due to the huge extension in north–south direction from 57° 58′ N to 71° 11′ N, Norway encompasses five climate zones according to the Köppen classification. Its location on the west side of the Scandinavian Peninsular close to the North Atlantic Current, however, shifts most climate effects to a more temperate level compared to what is to expect from the given geographical zone. Especially during the last two decades, a marked temperature increase is observed over the whole country. The close interlink with sea climates due to the very long coastline with many fjords and islands, effects of altitude as well as of luv and lee situations of different mountainous regions up to 2469 m a.s.l. and the general west–east gradient from maritime to continental climates result in various patterns of climate elements on a regional and local scale. Southwest Norwegian coastal lowlands have a quite temperate climate and the mountainous areas situated behind often show huge amounts of precipitation during all seasons including partly enormous snow accumulation in winter supplying numerous glaciers. The more continental areas of Eastern Norway are very dry, and the elevated mountain plateaus, especially in Northern Norway, are of subarctic appearance including phenomena of permafrost.
Solar radiation Topoclimate
G. Ketzler (&) W. Römer Department of Physical Geography and Climatology, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany e-mail: [email protected] A. A. Beylich Geomorphological Field Laboratory (GFL), Sandviksgjerde, Strandvegen 484, 7584 Selbustrand, Norway
2.1
Temperature
Precipitation
Wind
Introduction
This chapter aims at giving an overview of the main climate factors influencing geomorphological processes and their geographical distribution. This also includes general statements, but it is not intended to outline a complete climatology of Norway but rather an overview of regional morphoclimatology. By doing so, we generally follow the morphoclimatological approach of Ahnert (e.g. 1987). This approach has the intention to focus on those climatic conditions and processes relevant for morphological processes and to quantify as far as reasonable the relation between their magnitude and their frequency. An example of a field study from Norway based on morphoclimatic analysis is given by Beylich and Laute (2018). For the present—in a spatial and functional sense—more general study, extensive quantification, e.g. in the form of detailed analysis of frequency distributions, is not performed, but, however, it is intended to discuss the most important aspects of a morphoclimate on the basis of figures describing intensity and temporal dimension. There are few surveys on the climate of Norway or Scandinavia in international publications. Williams (1901) already gives an overview of th
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