EN
The main purpose of the study was to define the most important features of the climate of Europe, which derive from geographical position and altitude above sea level. To begin with, we discuss the thermal features of Europe's climate which result from the continent's location at moderate latitudes. The research was conducted on the basis of average monthly values of air temperature in 30-year periods, 1961-1990. The fields of real sunshine, air temperature, atmospheric precipitation, atmospheric pressure and wind velocity were described using empirical models - regression polynomials of the second degrees y = f (φ), y= f (λ), y = f (H) for three coordinates: latitude φ, longitude λ and altitude above sea level H. They simulate both the zonal variability of air temperature T(φ) and precipitations P(φ) (which depends on the incoming solar radiation) and the impact of the Atlantic Ocean and the altitude T(λ), P(λ). The equation of the regression hyperplane has been a good tool for the inverstigation of general features of Europe's climate: y = a₀ +a₁ φ+a₂ λ + a₃ H. Coefficients of partia! a₁, a₂, a₃ - are components of gradients of meteorological variables; a₁ - meridional gradient, in °C/1° φ; a₂ - latitudinal gradient, in °C/1 °λ; a₃ - hypsometric gradient, in °C/100 m.