The climate of the United Kingdom has not always been the way it is today. During some periods it was much warmer and in others it was much colder. One of the greatest climatic events the UK has experienced was the Ice Age. This was a period of extreme cold weather that lasted for tens of thousands of years and ended about 10,000 years ago. During this period the temperature was so extremely low that the much of the surrounding ocean froze and a great ice sheet extended over all but the very southern edge of the UK.

10,000 years ago the UK began warming, resulting in the melting of the ice sheets bringing the interglacial period that exists today. There have been many glacial and interglacial periods in the geological history of the United Kingdom.

The temperature records in England are continuous back to the mid 17th century. The most quoted record is the Central England temperature (CET) record which is a compound source of cross-correlated records from several locations in central England.

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Page 1 - Introduction / Overview
Page 2 - Seasons
Page 3 - Regions
Page 4 - Sunshine & Clouds
Page 5 - The Atlantic Ocean
Page 6 - Winds
Page 7 - Rainfall
Page 8 - Temperature
Page 9 - Severe weather
Page 10 - Climate history (Current page)

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