Is Montreal further north than Edinburgh?
No. Montreal, at 45.5° N, lies about 1,200 km further south than Edinburgh, at 56.0° N.
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Why it surprises
Montreal, with its long winters, ice storms and skating rinks, feels like a far more northern city than Edinburgh. The latitude says otherwise: Edinburgh’s centre lies at 56.0° N and Montreal’s at 45.5° N, so Edinburgh is about 1,200 km further north. It is level with Moscow and Copenhagen, while Montreal lines up with Milan and Lyon. Montreal’s cold comes from being deep inside a continent, with cold winters and hot, humid summers. Edinburgh, on the east coast of Scotland, is kept mild by the sea, and its local weather depends on how close a place is to the coast, how high it is and how built-up the area is. A city’s winter tells you more about its geography than about its latitude.
Sources for this explanation
- Mathematical Geosciences (copy at McGill University): mcgill.ca, checked 25 October 2026
- Met Office: metoffice.gov.uk, checked 25 October 2026
Where the numbers come from
Each city is placed by Wikidata’s coordinate for its centre, cross-checked with Natural Earth’s populated places. Details: Montreal and Edinburgh.
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