Editing IPCC:AR6/WGI/Chapter-Atlas (section)

==== Atlas.8.1.1 Key Features of the Regional Climate ====

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Westerly winds and the accompanying Atlantic storm track with cyclones and anticyclones travelling from the Atlantic towards inland Europe are the main climatic features that characterize daily to interannual variability in the European region. The Siberian High in winter determines cold weather in Eastern Europe and can affect other regions with cold outbreaks. Intra-seasonal and interannual variations are driven by modes of climate variability such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO; Table Atlas.1 and Annex IV.2). Global warming can lead to systematic changes in regional climate variability via thermodynamic responses such as altered lapse rates ( [[#Kröner--2017|Kröner et al., 2017]] ; [[#Brogli--2019|Brogli et al., 2019]] ) and land-atmosphere feedbacks ( [[#Zampieri--2011|Zampieri and Lionello, 2011]] ; [[#Boé--2014|Boé and Terray, 2014]] ). Regional feedbacks involving the land-sea contrast, sea surface, land surface, clouds, aerosols, radiation and other processes modulate the regional response to enhanced warming.

Four climatic regions are defined for Europe (Figure Atlas.24). The Mediterranean region (MED) in the south is characterized by mild winters and hot and dry summers (Mediterranean climate; [[IPCC:Wg1:Chapter:Chapter-10#10.6.4.2|Section 10.6.4.2]] ). It covers both Europe and Africa, and MED assessments in this section generally imply the entire MED domain unless stated otherwise. The Western and Central Europe region (WCE) has distinct summer and winter seasons with increasing continentality of climate eastwards. The Northern Europe region (NEU), close to the Atlantic Ocean, is characterized by high humidity and relatively mild winters, and strong exposure to the Atlantic storm track. Eastern Europe (EEU) covers the western part of Russia and neighbouring territories and has continental characteristics. Many regional datasets and model projections assessed here do not sufficiently cover the EEU region.

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