Heatwaves

• when was England's highest ever temperature recorded and what was it?

  19th of July 2022 at 40.3 degrees C
• what is the difference between weather and climate?

  time scale
• what is weather?


  short term changes in the atmopshere
• what is climate?


  average weather conditions in a specific area over a long period of time - 30 years or more
• what is an extreme weather event?


  an event that is rare at a particular place and time of year
• what is a climate extreme?


  the occurrence of a value of a weather or climate variable above or below a threshold value near the upper or lower ends of the range of observed values of the variable
• what is an extreme climate event?

  when a pattern of extreme weather persists for some time, such as a season
• how is a heatwave defined?

  a period of abnormally hot weather with respect to some threshold value
• name four of the measures which can be used to define heatwaves?

  mean daily temperature, maximum daily temperature, maximum daily apparent temperature and maximum daily heat index
• what is the heat index?

  a measure of 'how hot it feels' or the 'apparent' temperature and facors in relative humidity
• what is the UK definition of a heatwave?

  when a location records a period of 3 or more consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures equal to or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold
• what is the main driver of a heatwave?

  atmospheric pressure