Winter in the UK can feel utterly miserable, with almost constant rain, and even though it doesn’t often snow, London can feel colder than Canada for one specific reason
It’s one of our favourite pastimes as Brits to talk about the weather, no matter what time of year it is. As the winter months descend upon us, the temperatures are dropping, and London has begun to feel incredibly cold. Not to mention the rain that continues to fall most days, which makes going outside miserable and battling journeys on the tube in thick coats a sweaty and stifling affair.
But mention the weather on social media, and you’ll soon have people from other countries telling you it can’t be that cold because we don’t often get snow, and if we do, it’s not a thick blanket. It’s true that we don’t spend all winter shovelling six inches of snow off our driveways, but the cold we experience is still very real – and it can even feel colder than places like Canada in the winter for one very specific reason.
In a video shared on Instagram, Ashley Zixuan explained that, although temperatures have to be colder in Canada to create thick blankets of snow instead of the rain we get in London, experiencing rain alongside temperatures close to freezing can make it feel colder because of the damp conditions.
She said: “This is because of heat conductivity. London’s air is damp. Cold and humidity mean high thermal conductivity. This means that water molecules in the air will pull heat away from your skin faster than dry air.
“Canada’s cold is usually dry cold, so you lose heat more slowly.”
That’s not the only reason London feels so harsh in the winter, either. In the summer, you might find that the narrow streets of London make things feel more suffocating and hot, but in the winter, this has the opposite effect – especially if it’s windy.
Ashley added: “London’s historic streets create something called the urban canyon effect. Wind gets compressed through narrow alleys and moves faster. Faster wind strips heat away from your skin, so you feel colder. Wind also means that clothing is less effective.
“In Canadian suburbs, the street layout is wider, more open, and predictable. This means that the wind moves around the buildings instead of through them.”
Finally, Ashley said that buildings in Canada are also simply more insulated than ones in the UK. London still has many old and listed buildings that have single-glazed windows that let a lot of cold air in.
While our homes aren’t built for the summer heat, without air conditioning and with no good way to let a proper flow of cool air in, many of us are also living in properties that don’t hold up well in the cold of winter either.
Commenters on the video were amazed that they could finally explain a feeling they’ve had for years about the temperatures in the UK. Some said that while they love to go skiing in places like Switzerland, they can’t stand the cold in London, even when there’s no snow on the ground.
One person said: “I had a girl from Norway say that the UK winter is worse than Norway! I think Scotland is way worse than England.”
Another added: “Yes! Finally, someone explained it well! In Switzerland, Poland, or Germany, we get lower temperatures, but still can go skiing, do activities, or even go for a hike. But when I’m in London, it’s a different story. It’s unbearable because it’s a wet cold. It’s just different; it disrespects our jackets and any effort to stay dry and warm.”
A third posted: “London feels colder than Moscow. Even tho the temperature is higher here, it feels freezing.”
