Comparison Of The Summers of 1976 and 2013

By Paul Homewood

 

 

According to the Met Office, this summer was the 9th warmest since 1910. How does it compare with the summer of 1976, still the hottest on record, particularly in terms of maximum temperatures?

 

 

 

I have obtained the daily maximum temperature for each summer from the Met Office for two sites – Oxford and Bradford.

Oxford is fairly representative of the southern half of England, while Bradford is similar for the north. Both locations are inland.

 

Oxford

   

Figure 1

 

Figure 1 compares the daily maximum temperatures for the two summers. The hottest period of 1976 was the end of June/start of July, with another brief burst of high temperatures towards the end of August. This summer, the highest temperatures occurred during the middle of July, and were neither as high or as long lasting as in 1976.

It could also be argued that, as July is normally a hotter month than June, the 1976 temperatures were even more exceptional. Or to put it another way, if the 1976 heatwave had occurred a month later, as this year’s did, it may have been hotter still. (Climatological averaged max temps for Oxford are 20.3C in June, and 22.7C in July).

A few stats spell out the difference between the two years.

 

	1976	2013
Highest Daily Temperature	34.3C	31.6C
No of days >30C	14	5
No of days >25C	45	22
Longest period of consecutive days >30C	14	2

 

 

Bradford

  

Figure 2

 

Interestingly, the position is less clear cut with Bradford, though the same patterns exist.

 

	1976	2013
Highest Daily Temperature	29.2C	29.0
No of days >25C	24	10
Longest period of consecutive days >25C	15	4

 

So although the highest temperatures this summer were almost as high as 1976, the length of the heatwaves in both June/July, and again in August, far exceeded this year’s.

 

Concluding

• The 1976 heatwave was much longer lasting than this year’s, at both sites.
• The top temperatures in Oxford were considerably higher. (There were 9 days hotter in 1976 than this summer’s hottest day).
• Top temperatures in Bradford were only slightly higher in 1976.

It’s also worth noting that the all-time record highs were set in August 1990, at both Oxford and Bradford, (35.1C and 32.2C respectively).