Editing Iberian Peninsula (section)

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Portugal|Climate of Spain}}
[[File:Tossa de Mar View.jpg|thumb|The Mediterranean coast of Spain]]
The Iberian Peninsula's location and topography, as well as the effects of large [[atmospheric circulation]] patterns induce a NW to SE gradient of yearly precipitation (roughly from 2,000&nbsp;mm to 300&nbsp;mm).{{Sfn|Lorenzo-Lacruz|Vicente-Serrano|López-Moreno|González-Hidalgo|2011|pp=2582–2583}}

The Iberian Peninsula has three dominant climate types. One of these is the [[oceanic climate]] seen in the northeast in which precipitation has barely any difference between winter and summer. However, most of Portugal and Spain have a [[Mediterranean climate]]; the [[Mediterranean climate#Warm-summer Mediterranean climate|warm-summer Mediterranean climate]] and the [[Mediterranean climate#Hot-summer Mediterranean climate|hot-summer Mediterranean climate]], with various differences in precipitation and temperature depending on latitude and position versus the sea, this applies greatly to the Portuguese and Galician Atlantic coasts where, due to [[upwelling]]/[[downwelling]] phenomena average temperatures in summer can vary through as much as 10&nbsp;°C (18&nbsp;°F) in only a few kilometers (e.g. [[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]] vs [[Santarém, Portugal|Santarém]]) There are also more localized [[steppe climate]]s in central Spain, with temperatures resembling a more continental Mediterranean climate. In other extreme cases highland alpine climates such as in [[Sierra Nevada (Spain)|Sierra Nevada]] and areas with extremely low precipitation and [[desert climate]]s or [[semi-desert climate]]s such as the [[Almería]] area, [[Murcia]] area and southern [[Alicante]] area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aemet.es/documentos/es/conocermas/recursos_en_linea/publicaciones_y_estudios/publicaciones/Atlas-climatologico/Atlas.pdf |title= IBERIAN CLIMATE ATLAS |website=Aemet.es |access-date=22 March 2024}}</ref> In the southwestern interior of the Iberian Peninsula the hottest temperatures in Europe are found, with [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]] and [[Alcoutim]], in southeast Portugal, averaging around {{convert|37|C|F}} in July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aemet.es/en/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos?l=5402&k=and|title=Standard climate values for Córdoba|publisher=Aemet.es|access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> The Spanish Mediterranean coast usually averages around {{convert|30|C|F}} in summer. In sharp contrast [[A Coruña]] at the northern tip of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] has a summer daytime high average at just below {{convert|23|C|F}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aemet.es/en/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos?l=1387&k=gal|title=Standard climate values for A Coruña|publisher=Aemet.es|access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> This cool and wet summer climate is replicated throughout most of the northern coastline. Winters in the Peninsula are for the most part, mild, although frosts are common in higher altitude areas of central Spain. The warmest winter nights are usually found in [[downwelling]] favourable areas of the west coast, such as on capes. Precipitation varies greatly between regions on the Peninsula, in December for example the northern west coast averages above {{convert|200|mm|abbr=on}} whereas the southeast can average below {{convert|30|mm|abbr=on}}. [[Insolation]] can vary from just 1,600 hours in the [[Bilbao]] area, to above 3,000 hours in the [[Algarve]] and [[Gulf of Cádiz]].