This provides the vine with plenty of drainage, which is an important factor in a wet, northern climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.

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Like a wet blanket swollen with water, the climate can only absorb so much excess heat before global temperatures begin to rise.

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Finding a Mediterranean climate characterised by warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters, they successfully planted their own vines and have kept the valley dry grown (ie no irrigation zone) for more than 150 years.

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The water is also an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes, particularly in the warm, wet climate of the Gulf Coast, which could mean a spike in mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile virus.

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Leaving the island, torrential rain battered the boat and the rough sea had no desire to give us a smooth journey back to Guapi, typical for this perpetually hot, wet climate.

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Exploring and colonizing Mars can bring us new scientific understanding of climate change, of how planet-wide processes can make a warm and wet world into a barren landscape.

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