It’s fair to say that as a nation we’re pretty obsessed with talking about the weather! Maybe it’s partly explained by our ever-changing island climate. One minute we are faced with Atlantic winds, rain or sleet only to wake up the following day to brilliant sunshine. Furthermore, the media feeds on our fascination with the weather with a constant supply of stories and reports on the subject – when it comes to news about the weather we can’t get enough.
Take the last few weeks for example. Before the latest onset of thundery conditions we enjoyed the longest spell of hot weather to affect the whole of the UK since July 2006.
Yet there are also some of us who long for the return of those long nights and the chance to curl up in front of a log fire, drawing the curtains on a winter storm, lashing the windows.
With school holidays underway across the UK, the Met Office has discovered some interesting insights into what we all love to get up to in a Great British Summer.
Eight out of ten Brits check the weather forecast before planning a summer activity.
We enjoy activities which include entertaining friends outside (10%), heading to the beach (9%), going to a festival (4%) or even just relaxing in the garden (23%), with women (26%) happier to relax in the back garden, compared to men (19%).
Here are some other interesting insights around our summer behaviour:
- 82% of women change their wardrobe but only 64% of men choose different clothes
- 40% of us watch less TV
- If it rains it’s women (54%) rather than men (43%) who would opt for indoor-based activities in place of a planned summer activity, rather than risk getting wet (21% nationally) or cancelling altogether (16%)
- More than half (54%) the women surveyed said they change their diets when summer arrives but just 36 % of men say they eat differently.
So, in conclusion, love it or hate it, the Great British Summer does have an impact on the way we behave. Yet it would appear whatever the weather we have learned to make the most of it!
© Met Office
