Does West London have the hottest spots in town?
WE’VE really been enjoying the sunshine in London in recent months.
But this has really got us at the Gazette thinking more deeply about the capital’s climate.
Weather is something we notice every single day, and it often seems that areas in West London benefit from higher temperatures than other areas in London.
On Wednesday (July 22) for example, the weather forecast in these areas is as follows:
Enfield in North London: highs of 24 Degrees Celsius
Croydon in South London: highs of 23 Degrees Celsius
Barking an Dagenham in East London: highs of 24 Degrees Celsius
Heathrow in West London: highs of 26 Degrees Celsius
What’s more, is that areas in West London often records hotter temperatures than the rest of the UK.
Wednesday, May 20 was the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures climbing to 27.8C (82F) near Heathrow Airport in Hillingdon.
We contacted the Met Office to find out why West London regularly enjoys hotter temperatures than other places.
It turns out there was more than one reason.
It may be that West London is not actually warmer than the rest of London, but that the difference is down to Met Office equipment.
There are five Met Office climate stations in London, all but one of which are on the western side of London.
Greenwich Park weather station is the only exception, while the rest of the stations are situatied in Hampstead, Kew Gardens, Hampton W Wks and Northolt.
“So, this [West London’s higher recorded temperatures] is more likely due to there being more Met Office weather stations in western parts of London,” a Met Office meteorologist said.
We now know that West London may record higher temperatures than other areas in London because of the position of weather stations.
But Met Office said there are multiple reasons why West London may be hotter than other parts of the UK.
A Met Office spokesperson said
London and southeast England are the part of the UK that is closest to continental Europe, “and as such can be subject to similar weather patterns.”
“In summer for example, the south east can experience hot and humid weather brought towards the UK by south-easterly winds from mainland Europe.”
The southeast is also the part of the UK that is furthest from the path of most Atlantic low-pressure systems, “these systems which bring cloud, wind and rain usually track northeastwards across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, northern and southwest England and – and can often miss
London and the South East.”
And there’s more...
The temperature in London is likely to be hotter than in other areas of the UK due to the city’s existence as an ‘urban heat island.’
These heat islands form as a result of the interaction of a number of factors, such as heat released from buildings, concrete absorbing heat, solar radiation reflected by glass buildings and windows (such as in central business districts) and cars emitting pollutants.
London is a clear example of an urban heat island, and therefore records higher temperatures than many other areas of the UK.