Researcher models the climate of Middle Earth from 'The Lord of the Rings'.

Good news for everyone losing sleep on what kind of weather Mordor has.

University of Bristol's Dan Lunt created a climate simulation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, and compares that model against our modern world and the Late Cretaceous (think: dinosaurs) period. And in case you doubted Lunt's dedication, he published the paper in English, Dwarvish, and Elvish.

The results? The Shire, where the Hobbits live, average temperatures around 7°C with about 61 cm of rainfall each year. Meanwhile, Mordor's weather would be more in line with a subtropical clime of western Texas, explaining why people rarely desire to go to Mordor or western Texas.



photo: Dan Lunt