The total number of sunshine hours recorded in the United Kingdom in 2024 was over *****. This was a decrease from the previous year, which had ***** sunshine hours. Since 1930, the highest number of sunshine hours recorded in a year in the UK occurred in 1995, at *****.

The amount of monthly hours of sunshine in England follows a similar pattern each year, with the longest durations occurring in Spring and Summer. During the period in consideration, the highest amount of monthly sunshine hours was recorded in May 2020, at over *** hours. This was more hours of sunlight than the UK average. Overcast and rainyIn addition to low periods of sunshine, England is also susceptible to precipitation. Between 2015 and 2023, the greatest number of days in which more than 1mm of rain fell was **** days in March of the latter year. The driest month was May 2020, with just *** rain days. Europe’s gloomiest and sunniest citiesThe United Kingdom has some of Europe's cloudiest cities, such as Glasgow, London and Manchester. On the other hand, most of Europe’s sunniest cities are located in Spain, with Alicante taking the lead at *** hours of monthly average sunshine.

The lowest average daily sun hours in the United Kingdom typically occur in January and December. The highest daily sun hours recorded since 2015 was in May 2020, at an average of 9.7 hours per day. In comparison, May 2024 saw 5.6 hours of daily sunshine. High levels of monthly sunlight in 2018 Since 2014, the pattern of total monthly hours of sunlight remained relatively similar up until 2018. That year there was a noticeable increase in sunlight hours in May, June and July – with May recording 241 hours of sunlight. The following year the pattern returned to normal, but a significant increase was again recorded in 2020. Annual sun hours The average annual number of daily sun hours in the UK has remained above four hours per day since 2001, but has not increased above five. Daily sun hours were highest in 2003 at 4.9 hours per day. The following years saw sun hours remain at a similar level, until figures increased again to 4.9 hours in 2022.

The total monthly hours of sunlight in the UK follow a similar pattern each year. May typically has the highest monthly hours of sunshine, peaking at nearly 267 hours in 2020. Unsurprisingly, the lowest hours of sunlight occur at the end of each year.Little sunshine throughout the dayThe average annual number of daily sun hours has seen little change since the turn of the century, with the lowest average number being recorded in 2012 at 4 hours and the highest average being 4.9 in 2003 and 2022. Instruments such as the Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder are used to measure sunshine duration. However, more modern equipment is now being used as the Campbell-Stokes recorder overestimates sunshine duration. England gets the most sunshineAlthough sunshine isn't the most common sight throughout the United Kingdom, on average England receives the most monthly hours. In recent years, the longest monthly duration of sunlight was recorded in May 2020, at an average of 267 hours. In comparison, Scotland received just 215 hours of sunshine in the same month.

Context

The dataset featured below was created by reconciling measurements from requests of individual weather attributes provided by the European Climate Assessment (ECA). The measurements of this particular dataset were recorded by a weather station near Heathrow airport in London, UK.

-> This weather dataset is a great addition to this London Energy Dataset. You can join both datasets on the 'date' attribute, after some preprocessing, and perform some interesting data analytics regarding how energy consumption was impacted by the weather in London.

Content

The size for the file featured within this Kaggle dataset is shown below — along with a list of attributes and their description summaries: - london_weather.csv - 15341 observations x 10 attributes

1. date - recorded date of measurement - (int)
2. cloud_cover - cloud cover measurement in oktas - (float)
3. sunshine - sunshine measurement in hours (hrs) - (float)
4. global_radiation - irradiance measurement in Watt per square meter (W/m2) - (float)
5. max_temp - maximum temperature recorded in degrees Celsius (°C) - (float)
6. mean_temp - mean temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) - (float)
7. min_temp - minimum temperature recorded in degrees Celsius (°C) - (float)
8. precipitation - precipitation measurement in millimeters (mm) - (float)
9. pressure - pressure measurement in Pascals (Pa) - (float)
10. snow_depth - snow depth measurement in centimeters (cm) - (float)

Source

Weather Data - https://www.ecad.eu/dailydata/index.php

Since the turn of the century there has been little change in the average daily sunshine hours in the United Kingdom. In 2024, an average of 3.8 daily sun hours was recorded. This year saw the lowest amount of daily sunlight during the period in consideration, while 2003 and 2022 saw some of the highest values, with 4.9 hours of daily sunlight. Summer sun Unsurprisingly it is the spring and summer months that receive the most daily sunshine hours. The longest duration was recorded in 2020, when the average daily sunshine in the second quarter reached 7.9 hours. In 2023, the second quarter of the year had an average of seven daily sun hours. In comparison, that same year's first and fourth quarters recorded just 2.7 and 2.1 hours of daily sunshine, respectively. Historical sunshine In 1930, the average annual sunshine hours amounted to 1,290 hours. Sunlight has traditionally been recorded using a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder, which was developed in the late 19th century. However, measurements from this instrument can overestimate sunshine duration. Whilst still often used at non automated climate stations, more accurate modern sunshine sensors are in use these days at automated stations.

The annual number of rain days in the UK has fluctuated over the past three decades. In 2024, there were *** days in which * mm or more of rain fell. The year with the greatest number of rain days was 2000 when ***** days had at least * mm of rain. England is the driest country in the UK England is on average the driest country in the United Kingdom. In 2024, the country recorded an annual rainfall of **** mm. After England, Northern Ireland is the country that receives the least amount of rainfall across the UK. Wettest regions in Britain Despite Cardiff being the wettest city in the United Kingdom according to the Met Office, Scotland had received on average the largest volume of annual rainfall in the past 10 years. The northern and western regions of the UK – where rainfall is arriving from the Atlantic – tend to be the wettest in the country.

The highest average temperature recorded in 2024 until November was in August, at 16.8 degrees Celsius. Since 2015, the highest average daily temperature in the UK was registered in July 2018, at 18.7 degrees Celsius. The summer of 2018 was the joint hottest since institutions began recording temperatures in 1910. One noticeable anomaly during this period was in December 2015, when the average daily temperature reached 9.5 degrees Celsius. This month also experienced the highest monthly rainfall in the UK since before 2014, with England, Wales, and Scotland suffering widespread flooding. Daily hours of sunshine Unsurprisingly, the heat wave that spread across the British Isles in 2018 was the result of particularly sunny weather. July 2018 saw an average of 8.7 daily sun hours in the United Kingdom. This was more hours of sun than was recorded in July 2024, which only saw 5.8 hours of sun. Temperatures are on the rise Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in regional temperatures across the UK. Between 1961 and 1990, temperatures in England averaged nine degrees Celsius, and from 2013 to 2022, average temperatures in the country had increased to 10.3 degrees Celsius. Due to its relatively southern location, England continues to rank as the warmest country in the UK.

The United Kingdom's hottest summer ever recorded was in 2018, with an average temperature of ***** degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, 2023 saw the eighth hottest summer in the UK, with an average temperature of ***** degrees. In the last couple of decades, five of the top 10 warmest summers in the UK were recorded. New temperature records in 2022 In summer 2022, record-breaking temperatures of more than ** degrees Celsius were recorded at several locations across the UK. Accordingly, 2022 was also the UK's warmest year on record, with the average annual temperature rising above ** degrees Celsius for the first time. Since temperature recording began in ****, the hottest years documented in the country have all occurred after 2003. England: the warmest country in the UK Amongst the countries that comprise the United Kingdom, England has generally seen the highest annual mean temperatures. In 2022, England’s average temperature also reached a new record high, at nearly ** degrees Celsius. And while it’s not a typical sight in the United Kingdom, England also registered the most hours of sunshine on average, with Scotland being the gloomiest country out of the four.