Climate of London


, the capital of the United Kingdom and largest city in the United Kingdom, has a temperate oceanic climate, with mild summers and cool winters. While the city annually has modest precipitation, annually averaging less than cities like Rome, New York City, or Shanghai, unlike those cities, London has many long periods of overcast skies and frequent light mist-type precipitation, which may account for the rainy image of the city. Nevertheless, London averages about 1600 hours of sunshine annually, which is comparable with most northern European capitals. Like much of the U.K., the climate of London is shaped by the onshore flow of the high latitude Atlantic Ocean, which brings moist, cool air, and frequent cloudy skies.
Within the current boundaries of Greater London, the coldest temperature ever recorded was at Northolt on 1 January 1962, and the highest temperature ever recorded was, recorded at Kew Gardens during the European Heat Wave of 2003.. London's large built-up area creates a microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings. Sometimes temperatures are 5 °C warmer in the city than in the surrounding areas. The urban heat island effect creates a micro climate in inner London, as seen in the London weather centre climate table below.

Classifications

Climate data tables

London Weather Centre

Heathrow - Airport Weather Station in the suburbs of West London

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.

Northolt - Airfield Weather Station in the North West of London

Temperature extremes range from in August 2003, down to in January 1962.

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

Average UV index


JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
1124566542103.4