Climatology
This page presents United Kingdom's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
The UK’s climate is maritime, moist and temperate, with a moderate annual temperature range. Average annual precipitation in the UK typically ranges from approximately 800 mm to 1,400 mm. The UK climate is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift which brings warm water into high northern latitudes. Prevailing winds are westerly, thus UK regional climates vary with distance from the Atlantic as well as topography. Continental influences are most strongly seen in the southeast of the country.