Climate_of_London

Climate of London

Climate of London

Overview of the English city's climate


According to the Koppen Climate Classification, London has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb).[1] This type of climate features cool winters with frequent cloudy skies and rain showers (and on occasion snow), and mild summers. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed all year round.

Quick Facts London, United Kingdom, explanation) ...
London on a snowy day in 2018

London has a very rich history of meteorological observations, with precipitation records beginning as early as January 1697 at Kew Gardens.[2] Irregular observations were made at multiple locations in the ensuing years. An observing station has been located at Greenwich since 1841, giving London its longest continuous reliable temperature series.[3] Other stations include Heathrow, beginning in 1948,[4] Hampstead, beginning in 1910,[5] Northolt, beginning in 1948,[6] and St James's Park, beginning in 1910.[7]

The highest temperature ever observed in London is 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) provisionally[8] recorded at both Heathrow Airport and St James's Park on 19 July 2022 and the lowest is −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) 1 January 1962.[9] The lowest daily maximum temperature is −8.3 °C (17.1 °F) occurring on 3 occasions: 8 January 1841, 4 January 1867 and 12 January 1987.[10] The highest daily minimum temperature recorded is 25.8 °C (78.4 °F), recorded in Kenley on 19 July 2022.[11] In addition to this, London holds multiple national records, including the record maximum for the months of February, April, May and June.[12]

The city can sometimes experience extremes. Snowfall is an infrequent occurrence in winter, falling on an average of 16 days per year, though infrequently heavy.[13] Thunderstorms are a similarly occurring feature, occurring on average up to 16 days per year.[14] London rarely experiences tornadoes, although an F2 struck Kensal Green on 7 December 2006. Severe weather and extremes in temperature are uncommon.

London is vulnerable to climate change in the United Kingdom, and there is increasing concern among hydrological experts that London households may run out of water before 2050.[15]

Classifications

More information Climatic scheme, Initials ...

Climate data tables

London Weather Centre

More information Month, Jan ...

St James's Park - Weather Station near the centre of London

More information Month, Jan ...

Heathrow - Airport Weather Station in the suburbs of West London

More information Month, Jan ...

Kew Gardens - Weather Station in South West London on the banks of the River Thames

More information Month, Jan ...

Hampstead - Weather Station in North London

The weather station enclosure is the most elevated of any in the London area, and as a result daytime temperatures are typically one degree lower than Heathrow, Kew, Northolt and Greenwich.

More information Month, Jan ...

Northolt - Airfield Weather Station in the North West of London

Temperature extremes range from 37.7 °C (99.9 °F) in August 2003, down to −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) in January 1962.

More information Month, Jan ...

Greenwich - Weather Station in South East London near the river Thames

More information Month, Jan ...

Average UV index

More information Jan, Feb ...

See also

Notes

  1. Also called marine west coast.
  2. Mid-latitude temperate maritime climate

References

  1. Peel, M.C.; Finlayson, B.L. "World Map of Köppen-Geiger climate classification". The University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. "Monthly precipitation totals KEW GARDENS 1697- 1987". Wetterzentrale.de. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. "Temperaturmonatsmittel GREENWICH/MARITIME M 1841- 1960". Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. "Heathrow". CEDA Archive. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. "Hampstead". CEDA Archive. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  6. "Northolt". CEDA Archive. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. "St James's park". CEDA Archive. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  8. "1962". Trevor Harley. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  9. "British weather in January". Trevor Harley. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. "Last night was hottest ever recorded with temperatures staying above 25°C". metro.co.uk. 19 July 2022. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  11. "UK climate extremes". Met Office. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  12. "Yearly Snowfall Averages for the United Kingdom". Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  13. "Thunderstorms" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  14. Saphora Smith (16 May 2022). "London could run out of water in 25 years as cities worldwide face rising risk of drought, report warns". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022. London already receives about half the amount of rain that falls in New York City, and climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the region
  15. Joint Research Centre (European Commission), University of Milano (5 January 2017). Modelling inclusion, testing and benchmarking of the impacts of ozone pollution on crop yields at regional level. EU Publications. doi:10.2788/68501. ISBN 9789279649455. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019 via publications.europa.eu.
  16. "London, England Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  17. "GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL ZONING FOR THE GLOBAL FOREST RESOURCES ASSESSMENT 2000". www.fao.org. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. "Trewartha maps". kkh.ltrr.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  19. Cmapm, Kliimavöötmed svg: Urmasderivative work (16 June 2011), Русский: Климатические пояса Земли по Б. П. Алисову., archived from the original on 8 December 2020, retrieved 1 July 2019
  20. "World Strahler Climate Map". Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  21. Feddema, Johannes J. (January 2005). "A Revised Thornthwaite-Type Global Climate Classification". Physical Geography. 26 (6): 442–466. doi:10.2747/0272-3646.26.6.442. ISSN 0272-3646. S2CID 128745497.
  22. "Klimaklassifikation". www.spektrum.de (in German). Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  23. "Klimazonen nach E. Neef (1989)". Klett-Perthes. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  24. "London Weather Centre analysis". Weather Online. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  25. "climate: Climate London Weather Centre". Tutiempo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  26. "Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  27. "Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  28. "London Heathrow Airport". Met Office. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  29. "Heathrow Airport Extreme Values". KNMI. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  30. "Kew 1991–2020 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  31. "Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  32. "Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  33. "Indices data - Hampstead 1859". KNMI. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  34. "Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  35. "Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  36. "Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  37. "Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  38. "Greenwich 1991–2020 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  39. "Hot Spell - August 2003". Met Office. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  40. "Record Breaking Heat and Sunshine - July 2006". Met Office. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  41. "Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  42. "Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature". Starlings Roost Weather. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  43. Average UV index London, United Kingdom Archived 30 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine – weather-atlas.com

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Climate_of_London, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.