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I notice that Heathrow Airport often tops the list of highest daily temperatures in summer in the UK. Why is this?

鈥� The south-east of England is an excellent candidate for containing the warmest place in the UK. Not only is it in the south, but it is also on the front line as regards exposure to the warm southerly or south-easterly continental winds that blow during a hot spell.

Heathrow has an additional advantage: the urban heat island effect. Most cities are warmer than the surrounding countryside because their technology-rich environment generates waste heat. Heavily tarmacked surfaces are also better than vegetation at absorbing heat energy from the sun. So it is not surprising that weather stations in London often register the highest temperatures.

鈥淚n fact, the highest ever UK temperature of 38.5掳C didn鈥檛 occur in London, but in Faversham, Kent鈥�

However, I don鈥檛 think Heathrow is necessarily more likely to experience heat extremes than other London airports; it鈥檚 just that we tend to notice when it does. In fact, the highest UK temperature to date (38.5 掳C, on 10 August 2003) wasn鈥檛 recorded in London but close by at Faversham, Kent.

William Torgerson, Durham, County Durham, UK

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