Climate of London

London has a temperate climate, with warm but seldom hot summers, cool but rarely severe winters, and regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. Summer temperatures rarely rise much above 33 °C (91.4 °F), though higher temperatures have become more common recently. The highest temperature ever recorded in London was 38.1 °C (100.6 °F), measured at Kew Gardens during the European Heat Wave of 2003. Heavy snowfalls are almost unknown.

In recent winters, snow has generally only settled once or twice and it is rarely more than an inch (25 mm) or so. London’s average annual precipitation of 584 mm (22.9 inches) is lower than that of Rome or Sydney. London’s large built-up area creates a micro climate (”heat island”), with heat stored by the city’s buildings. Sometimes temperatures are 5 °C (9 °F) warmer in the city than in the surrounding areas.

The following table shows average climate data for 1971-2000 at the Met Office station at Greenwich which is the closest station to the centre of London. It is generally felt that the British climate turned warmer in around the mid 1980s and if averages were available for more recent periods, they would probably show somewhat higher average temperatures.