Countries where the prevailing winds sweep across a wide expanse of
ocean are not subject to extremes of heat and cold. Thus the climate of
oceanic islands is always moderate, and the climates of all coasts are
more equable than in the interior of continents.
Climate is also modified greatly by the position of mountain ranges,
especially when ridges extend east and west, screening it from the north
or leaving it exposed unsheltered in that direction.
Thus the Carpathians screen Hungary from the cold blasts of the north;
while Poland, to the north of that range, and therefore unprotected from
those piercing winds, suffers from a very cold and humid atmosphere.
The currents of the ocean are likewise potent agents in the formation of
climates, and render places which would otherwise be uninhabitable, fit
for man’s habitation. Thus the Polar currents coming to the equatorial
regions cool, and the Gulf Stream making its way to Polar regions warms,
otherwise extreme temperatures.