Is London Getting Hotter?
Short answer: yes. London's average temperature has climbed roughly 1.6 degrees since the 1900s. That puts it around the middle among the world's major cities for total warming. Here is what 139 years of data actually shows.
The warming hasn't been steady. The first half of the record saw a change of roughly 0.4 degrees, while the second half has already added 1.5 degrees. The acceleration is unmistakable.
Average Annual Temperature by Decade
London's relatively moderate warming reflects the North Atlantic's role as a climate buffer. The Gulf Stream and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) have historically moderated temperature extremes in the UK. However, recent research suggests the AMOC is weakening, which could lead to more volatile temperature patterns. London's warming rate has accelerated since the 1990s, and the 2010s saw several record-breaking summer heatwaves that would have been virtually impossible without climate change.
London's warming is close to the average across the 29 major cities in our global dataset.
Decade by Decade
| Decade | Avg Temp (C) | Change from 1900s |
|---|
How London Compares Globally
Among the world's major cities, London's warming rate places it in the upper tier. Here is how London stacks up against other global cities.
Key Numbers
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About This Data
Temperature data on this page comes from the Global Historical Climatology Network version 4 (GHCN v4), maintained by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. GHCN v4 contains monthly mean temperature data for over 25,000 stations across the globe, with records dating back to the 18th century for some stations. The data has been quality-controlled and homogenised using the Pairwise Homogeneity Algorithm to remove artificial discontinuities from station moves, equipment changes, and observation practice changes.
London's primary station is Hampstead, with records spanning 1877-2015. The "change" figures compare each decade's average to the 1900s baseline. Note that some of the warming in large cities is attributable to the urban heat island effect rather than regional climate change alone. The figures shown here include both components, as they represent what the city actually experiences.
NASA GISTEMP analysis, which processes GHCN v4 data, is a product of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. It is produced as a US Government work and is in the public domain.