2. banff and minsk are located at similar latitudes. what could account for banff’s average yearly temperature being lower than minsk’s?

The difference in altitude between them.

Explanation:

As seen in the question above, Banff and Minsk are at similar latitudes, but the difference in altitude between them can cause an extreme temperature change. This is because, regardless of latitude, the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature. This means that if Minsk is more meters above sea level than Banff, the region where Minsk is will have a warmer temperature and vice versa.