The Tropic of... Cornwall
IT IS a secret known to the holidaymakers who flock to its sunny beaches and sheltered coves all year round.
But Cornwall has now been classified as having a subtropical climate – putting it on a par with parts of Vietnam and Mexico.
The county has got much hotter over the past decade, according to a report from Exeter University using meteorological and environmental data.
On average, temperatures stay above 10C (50F) for more than seven months of the year, meaning it can be classed as subtropical.
Hotspots include the resorts of Porthleven and Padstow, as well as Mousehole, Falmouth and the Isles of Scilly. Report author Dr Ilya Maclean said: ‘I guess this shows that with a weakening pound and worldwide instability you don’t need to go abroad for a subtropical holiday, you can just go to Cornwall instead.
‘I would go so far as to stick my neck out and say that, based on the preliminary evidence we have, I think pretty much every beach in Cornwall falls into that category, and many in Devon too.’
It means exotic crops such as quinoa, a supergrain traditionally grown in South America, and persimmon, a tangy fruit from Japan, could soon be farmed in the region. Previously, map grid data had been too broad to calculate where had the right conditions to produce such plants, but this study can break plots down almost into individual fields.
The warmest areas were on slopes facing south and southwest, when winds were light and there was little cloud cover.
Local temperature variations were also incredibly marked. A valley at Poltesco was found on one day to be 15C (59F) hotter than nearby Culdrose air base.
Two of the most significant factors in the increase of warming by the sun, or solar radiation, were a marked decline in cloud cover between the early 1990s and 2010, and a decline in westerly airflows. Also, in prime spots, the frost-free season has grown by up to a month – something that is vital for protecting crops.