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Romania 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 the
Soviet Union, 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 in the south and 8°C in the north. In Bucharest, the
temperature ranges from -29°C in January to 29°C in July,
with
average temperatures of -3°C in January and 23°C 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 millimeters of precipitation each year.
Annual
precipitation averages about 635 millimeters in central
Transylvania, 521 millimeters at Iasi in Moldavia, and
only 381
millimeters at Constanta on the Black Sea.
Data as of July 1989
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