Ocean currents greatly influence the climate of a place and can drastically alter the temperature regime of the areas in question.

There are many ocean currents around the world, but the most famous are the following.

the californian current

This current passes along the coast of San Francisco and Los Angeles and keeps the climate of the two cities very comfortable; especially this last season. The interesting thing is that it flows as a cool stream in summer and as a warm stream in winter. For this reason, when the Americas continent freezes to several degrees below zero, the Californian coast rarely registers temperatures below 40 F.

In summer, it is the other way around. Almost all stations in the continental US on the same parallel as San Francisco record temperatures above 100 F, while in San Francisco, it is rare for the midday thermometer to exceed 90 F; thanks to the cooling effect of the ocean current. In fact, the climate of the California coast is so mild because of this current that the coast is called a land of perpetual spring. Few areas in the world can compete with the beauty of this climate.

North Atlantic drift

It is perhaps the most famous and most studied ocean current in the world and is responsible for keeping the coasts of the UK to Norway much warmer in winter than the European mainland. To give a comparison, places as far south as Madrid in Spain experience cold winters and nowhere on the Central European plain does the temperature exceed 25 F. While the North Atlantic Drift keeps the English coasts relatively warm and its effect can be feel as far north as Oslo in Norway, where the Atlantic Ocean rarely freezes over and business continues.

Labrador current

It is the ‘Titanic Fame’ ocean current that is responsible for the sinking of the ship in 1912. It is an icy ocean current. It’s so cold that it causes icebergs to float at much lower latitudes than normal. The air above becomes extremely cold and everything feels icy. This current flows from the northeast coast of Canada into Europe and causes many problems for water traffic even now in this age of scientific advancement.

In short, ocean currents cause huge air temperature anomalies over the areas they affect. consequently, the climate of the affected areas depends to a great extent on them.