Before today the England and Wales figure stood at 107 hours
which is 58% of the 1971-2000 norm for Aug 1-29 (my series,
not the MO's) so the final figure will probably settle between
114 and 117h (58-60%).

The only other August in this series below 130h is 1912
(mentioned several times previously this month) when the
figure was just 94h. August 1879 may have been almost as
dull, but the only sunshine recorders in operation then were
at Kew and Greenwich. The lowest in relatively recent
times was 143h in Aug 1986.

The usual caveats apply in respect of trying to merge records
from the Campbell Stokes era and the electronic era. The
differences between the two are greatest during unsettled
summer months at inland locations, amounting to 25-35%,
and possibly even more locally. With that in mind, this
August's E&W sunshine total may be an underestimate,
but even if it is as much as 10% too low, it is still the dullest
August since 1912.

Philip