The capital of the London

UK

London is the capital of

both England and the

United Kingdom, and the

most populous municipality

in the European Union,

while the 2nd biggest ur-

ban area after Paris.

Map of London in 1300,

showing the medieval
boundaries of the City
of London

DUDE

Geography
London can be geographically defined in a
number of ways; the situation was once
open to periodic legal debate. At Lon-
don's core is the small, ancient City of
London which is commonly known as 'the
City' or 'the Square Mile'. London's
metropolitan area grew considerably dur-
ing the Victorian era and again during the
Interwar period, but expansion halted in
the 1940s because of World War II and
Green Belt legislation, and the area has
been largely static since. The London
region of England, also commonly known
as Greater London, is the area adminis-
tered by the Greater London Authority.
The urban sprawl of the conurbation — or
Greater London Urban Area — covers a
roughly similar area, with a slightly lar-
ger population. Beyond this is the vast
L o n d o n
c ommu ter
belt.
Map of Central Lon-
don.
Climate
London has a temperate marine climate,
like much of the British Isles, so the Some snowfall, however, is usu-
city rarely sees extremely high or low ally seen up to a few times a
year. London is in USDA Hardi-
temperatures. Summers are warm with
average high temperatures of 19 °C ness zone 9, and AHS Heat
(66 °F) - 24 °C (75 °F) and lows of 11 °C Zone 2.
(52 °F) - {{convert|14|°C|°F}. But tem- In the second half of the 19th
peratures can exceed 25 °C (77 °F) on century and the first half of
many days, and in almost every year the 20th, London was noted for
they exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on some days. its dense fogs and smog's. Fol-
The highest temperature ever recorded lowing the deadly Great Smog
was 39 °C (102 °F) on 10th August 2003. of 1952, the Clean Air Act
Winters in London are chilly, but rarely 1956 was passed, leading to the
below freezing with daytime highs decline of such severe pollution
around 8 °C (46 °F) - 12 °C (54 °F), while in the capital.
spring has mild days and cool evenings.
The lowest ever recorded temperature
is −10 °C (14.0 °F). London has regular
but generally light precipitation
throughout the year, with average pre-
c ip it at ion of 5 83 .6 m il lim et ers
(22.98 in) every year. Snow is relatively
uncommon, particularly because heat
from the urban area can make London up
to 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than the sur-
rounding areas in winter.
City of London