Key Facts about: Inland Water Quality and Use
Average rainfall and temperature in England and Wales: 1845-2006
England and Wales
These charts are scatter plots of departures from the average rainfall and average temperatures for the summer and winter periods since 1845. The plots for each of the last 31 years (1975-2006) are shown as red diamonds.
On the winter chart the recent years tend to fall more in the top right quarter, corresponding to warmer, wetter winters. On the summer chart recent years tend to fall more in the bottom right quarter, corresponding to hotter, drier summers compared with earlier periods. This tendency is consistent with recent climate change scenarios but the climate is naturally variable and any apparent short-term trends should be treated with caution.
For the whole of the UK, 2006 was the warmest year on record with a mean temperature of 9.7 °C, 1.1 °C above the long-term average.
Changes in seasonal weather patterns have important implications for the frequency and magnitude of flooding and for water resources.
Note: on the winter chart, the year refers to the January/February year of that winter.
In Detail:
Further Information:
- Source:
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Wallingford), Met Office
- Key Facts:
- Summer and winter precipitation (Climate Change)
Data Tables:
Download Chart Data: Microsoft Excel
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Page last modified: 26 January 2007
Page published: 30 October 2005