The August 2003 heatwave in the United Kingdom. Part 2 – The hottest sites

Burt, Stephen; Eden, Philip

doi:10.1256/wea.10.04b

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, the WIS site has a slightly higher elevation than SJP (38 metres and 5 metres, respectively), whilst Burt and Eden (2004) suggested that it may have become more sheltered in recent years. These factors suggest that the urban-rural temperature gradient between the two sites could be less than might otherwise be expected.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal variations in the nocturnal heat island of London

Wilby

Jones

Lister

2011

Weather

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Urban landscapes typically experience higher air temperatures than the surrounding countryside due to absorption of solar heat by the fabric of buildings and trapping of outgoing longwave radiation within enclosed spaces. There is also less evapotranspiration from paved areas compared with vegetated surfaces, leaving a greater fraction of solar energy for surface heating. Artificial heat sources from transport, industry, air conditioning and space heating can further contribute to local warming. Although such phenomena are well-understood, urban heat islands (UHIs) can be contentious because of their potential to corrupt estimates of global near-surface temperature trends (Parker, 2010). There are also concerns that UHIs may intensify under future climate conditions, thereby amplifying heat stress on urban residents and habitats (Wilby, 2008;McCarthy et al., 2010).Thanks to the pioneering work of Luke Howard (1833), the UHI of central London has probably attracted more attention than that of any other city. The earliest digitized temperature series for the London area originate from Kew Observatory (1881) (1931). These data show that the UHI varies over a range of timescales: on average peaking at night, towards the end of the week, and in summer (Wilby, 2003a;2008). The locus of the maximum temperature anomaly is known to be highly mobile as it drifts across central London in response to prevailing wind speed and direction (Graves et al., 2001; McGregor et al., 2006).London's UHI has also varied over recent decades. Using temperature differences between SJP (urban) and WIS (rural) during day and night, Lee (1992) found that the nocturnal UHI intensified during the period 1962-1989. The same index was used by Wilby (2003b) to show that the intensity of London's nocturnal UHI in summer increased by 0.12 degC per decade over the period . However, the most recent assessment suggests that temperatures at SJP have not increased any more than those at ROTH or WIS since 1907 (Jones and Lister, 2009). This is a finding of some consequence for urban planners and building designers; it further opens the debate about which meteorological stations can be included in global temperature datasets.The purpose of this article is to reconcile the apparent discrepancy between these studies by uncovering the causes of multidecadal variations in London's UHI. Accordingly, we investigate two groups of meteorological factors: first, potential influences of record length, homogeneity and quality on long-term trends, and secondly, possible changes in the frequency and properties of weather patterns favouring intense heat-island episodes. We pay particular attention to the summer nocturnal heat island because the climatic signature is strongest and has the greatest health implications at these times. Data and methodsWe employ both daily and monthly mean maximum (Tx) and minimum (Tn) temperatures measured at SJP and WIS. As the name suggests, SJP is not located in a highly developed area of central London and is known to be cooler than ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal variations in the nocturnal heat island of London

Wilby

Jones

Lister

2011

Weather

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“…This was the subject of controversy as the Met Office reported the highest that day as 38.5°C near Faversham. An article in this magazine (Burt and Eden, 2004) and a follow-up letter (Prichard, 2005) do not appear to have changed the Met Office's view. No doubt we will soon see a higher reading; it is to be hoped that when this happens great care will be taken to study all the evidence and not give the media erroneous figures that then enter the country's weather folklore.…”

Section: Dennis Wheelermentioning

confidence: 94%

Great British Weather Disasters By Philip Eden Continuum, 2008 Hardback 351pp ISBN 978‐0‐8264‐7621‐0

Prichard¹

2009

Weather

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“…It seems likely that the 45 mm record of Carlton-in-Cleveland (Cinderey 2005) further illustrates the intensity of the same storm system. Burt's (2004) reference to hot Continental air being advected across south-eastern England would appear to fall a little short. It seems quite conceivable that some of this was certainly advected up the Vale of York which became a virtual cauldron of heat and humidity, shown by the exceptionally high temperatures so early in the day.…”

Section: Mesoscale Cold Front On 10 August 2003mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The article by S. Burt in the August 2004 issue (Burt 2004) raises some very interesting points relating to the apparent mesoscale cold front which developed ahead of the main frontal boundary, located from eastern Scotland down the Irish Sea on the morning of 10 August 2003.…”

Section: Mesoscale Cold Front On 10 August 2003mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesoscale cold front on 10 August 2003

Currie¹

2005

Weather

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The August 2003 heatwave in the United Kingdom. Part 2 – The hottest sites

Cited by 20 publications

References 1 publication

Decadal variations in the nocturnal heat island of London

Decadal variations in the nocturnal heat island of London

Great British Weather Disasters By Philip Eden Continuum, 2008 Hardback 351pp ISBN 978‐0‐8264‐7621‐0

Mesoscale cold front on 10 August 2003

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