The two biggest and most important cities of the United States and the United Kingdom - New York City and London. They are known for many things. For being the most important financial centers of the world, having many secret tunnels beneath them, and that neither has a good reputation for weather in the winter.
So which city of the "Big Apple" and "The City" (as they are popularly known) has the better weather? The answer is a little complicated and really depends on what one likes - although it's pretty obvious that London's weather is a little boring. Regardless of the answer, it can be agreed that the best time to visit New York City is in the autumn months.
London Is Not Smoggy Anymore
First, let's start by clearing up a myth. London is not a particularly foggy city. That is despite being portrayed in movies as such (especially old murder mystery movies). In many old books, London was described as smoggy - very smoggy, but its air is getting clearer and better.
- Smoggy: London is No Longer Smoggy - Overcast Yes, But Not Smoggy
The "fog" was smog and was caused by severe air pollution that London used to suffer from. It used to have many coal powerful stations around (plus the air pollution of the old automobiles and the leaded gasoline - but mostly coal). It wasn't that long ago that almost all of Britain's electricity was produced from coal and petroleum.
- Great Smog Of 1952: A Very Bad Snap of Smog That Estimated to Have Killed 4,000-12,000 People and Made another 100,000 Sick
Today petroleum has disappeared from the British power grid and coal has fallen to only 2% with the remainder to be phased out in the next two years. London's air is now much much better than in the past (plus London is working hard to electrify the vehicles and remove polluting gasoline and diesel vehicles).
Related: 20 Secret Underground Places To Visit In New York City
Temperatures of London and New York City
The temperatures of London are much milder than those of NYC. NYC is both warmer in the summer and colder in the winter - London is just London all the time.
- London Classified As: Temperate Oceanic Climate
- NYC Classified As: Humid Subtropical Climate
London's temperatures average winter lowers around 40 degrees F (or 5 Celsius) and summer highs get up to around 70 degrees F (21 Celsius). New York City fluctuates a lot more. Its winter average lows go down to around the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit (-6 to 4 Celsius) while its summer average highs get up to around 80 Fahrenheit (27 Celsius).
London Extremes:
- Highest Temperature: 100.6 °F (38.1 °C) on 10 August 2003
- Lowest Temperature: 3.0 °F (−16.1 °C) 1 January 1962
- London: Is Milder Than NYC
New York City Extremes:
- Highest Temperature: 106 °F (41 °C) on July 9, 1936
- Lowest Temperature: −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 9, 1934
- NYC: Has A Greater Range of Temperatures Than London
In NYC one will actually feel like one is experiencing winter or summer and it can be really cold or really hot. While over in London is best to have some sort of coat or sweater - just in case.
Related: It's Rumored That London Is Home To The Largest Secret Tunnel System In The World, So Here's What We Know
Rain, Snowfall, and Sunshine
London is often thought of as a very rainy city, but in reality, it is quite a dry city. Plus snow is not all that common, snow is also much more frequent in New York City. The reason why London feels wet is that it is shrouded by low clouds much of the time, only they don't normally do anything more than a drizzle.
London has an average annual rainfall of only 690 mm or 27.2 inches per year. The rainfall is spread out throughout the year.
- London Average Rainfall: 690 mm or 27.2 inches Per Year
- NYC Average Rainfall: 1,267 mm or 49.9 inches Per Year
New York City has much more precipitation than its British counterpart. It gets around double that of London getting drenched in about 1,267 mm or 49.9 inches of water per year. New York City gets the heaviest rainfall in spring while February is the driest month.
Snowfall in the Big Apple averages around 76 cm or 29.8 inches
But having less rain doesn't mean the sun is shining! Oh no! While New York City enjoys an average of around 2,535 hours of sunshine per year, London languishes with only 1,633 sunshine hours per year. Much much less than the Big Apple.
- London Average Sunshine: 1,633 Hours
- NYC Average Sunshine: 2,535 Hours
In short, New York City is warmer, colder, snowier, sunnier, and wetter than London. So don't forget the summer clothes, the winter clothes, the sunscreen, and an umbrella if going to NYC. While London may not be foggy, one will need to get used to it being cool or cold and otherwise depressingly overcast much of the time.
Next: How To Spend A Weekend In London Without Blowing All Your Money
