United Kingdom

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of the United Kingdom|Climate change in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:UK Köppen.svg|upright|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of the UK]]
Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.<ref name="factbook" /> The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below {{Convert|0|C|lk=on}} or rising above {{Convert|30|C}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hottest day of each year from 1900 |url=https://www.trevorharley.com/hottest-day-of-each-year-from-1900.html |website=www.trevorharley.com |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616173152/https://www.trevorharley.com/hottest-day-of-each-year-from-1900.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |title=Coldest day of each year from 1900 |url=https://www.trevorharley.com/coldest-days-of-each-year-from-1900.html |website=www.trevorharley.com |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709173537/https://www.trevorharley.com/coldest-days-of-each-year-from-1900.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience a [[subpolar oceanic climate]] (''Cfc''). Higher elevations in Scotland experience a [[Subarctic climate|continental subarctic climate]] (''Dfc'') and the mountains experience a [[tundra climate]] (''ET'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 August 2016 |title=English: A map of Köppen climate types in the United Kingdom (SVG version) |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_K%C3%B6ppen.svg |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202702/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_K%C3%B6ppen.svg |url-status=live }}</ref>

The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,<ref name="factbook" /> although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions, the eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the [[Gulf Stream]], bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Ocean Circulation (Gulf Stream) |url=http://ukclimateprojections.metoffice.gov.uk/23152 |access-date=8 March 2015 |website=UK Climate Projections |publisher=Met Office |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017162552/http://ukclimateprojections.metoffice.gov.uk/23152 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.<ref name="ukaverages">{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html |title=UK 1971–2000 averages |access-date=4 August 2007 |publisher=Met Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705140124/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html |archive-date=5 July 2009 }}</ref> The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine.<ref name="met off climate series">{{Cite web|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-temperature-rainfall-and-sunshine-time-series|title=UK temperature, rainfall and sunshine time series|website=Met Office|access-date=31 December 2022|archive-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017203556/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-temperature-rainfall-and-sunshine-time-series|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2022, the United Kingdom is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 EPI Results |url=https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/epi |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=Environmental Performance Index |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610151325/https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/epi |url-status=live }}</ref> A law has been passed that [[Greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom|UK greenhouse gas emissions]] will be [[net zero]] by 2050.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK net zero target |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target#:~:text=In%20June%202019%2C%20parliament%20passed,to%201990%20levels%20by%202050.&text=Prior%20to%20this%2C%20the%20UK,1990%20levels%2C%20also%20by%202050. |access-date=20 March 2024 |website=Institute for Government| date=20 April 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240320042051/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/uk-net-zero-target |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Update after|2050|01|01|category|reason=Hello from 2024! By the time you're reading this, that law will be a little older than 30 years old. Could you check if the UK ever ended up hitting that net zero GHG target?}}