Katy Perry

 

 

Katy Perry
Základné informácie
Popis umelca	americká speváčka
Rodné meno	Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
Narodenie	25. október 1984 (29 rokov) Santa Barbara, Kalifornia,Spojené štáty
Pôsobenie	2000 – súčasnosť
Žáner	pop, R&B, pop rock
Hrá na nástroje	spev, gitara
Typ hlasu	Contralto[1]
Vydavateľstvá	Red Hill, Island Def Jam,Columbia, Capitol
Webstránka	www.katyperry.com podpis Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (* 25. október 1984, Santa Barbara, Kalifornia, Spojené štáty), známa pod umeleckým menom Katy Perry je americká popová speváčka.

Katy sa narodila v rodine pastora, od malička počúvala cirkevný spev a gospelovú hudbu. Z jej druhého sólového štúdiového albumuOne of the Boys bolo predaných viac ako dva milióny nosičov a jej dva single „Ur So Gay“ a „I Kissed a Girl“ sa v USA stali trojnásobne platinovými. V roku 2008 bola za singel „I Kissed a Girl“ nominovaná na cenu Grammy.^[2] V roku 2011 získala celkom 10 nominácií na udeľovaní cien MTV Video Music Awards.^[3]

 

Obsah

  [skryť] 

• 1 Rekordy
• 2 Diskografia
• 3 Referencie
• 4 Iné projekty

 

Rekordy[upraviť | upraviť zdroj]

Katy Perry sa 17. augusta 2011 podaril rekord ktorým sa vyrovnala Michaelovi Jacksonovi, dostala celkom 5 svojich singlov z jej albumu Teenage Dream na prvé miesto v americkej hitparáde Billboard Hot 100. Stala sa tak prvou ženou v histórii, ktorá to dokázala.^[4]

Diskografia[upraviť | upraviť zdroj]

Bližšie informácie v hlavnom článku: Diskografia Katy Perry

• 2001 - Katy Hudson
• 2008 - One of the Boys
• 2010 - Teenage Dream
• 2013 - Prism

• Referencie[upraviť | upraviť zdroj]

  1. Jump up↑ Leong, Cheryl (2008-11-03). Katy Perry: One of the Boys. MTV Asia. prístup: 2009-02-13.
  2. Jump up↑ Katy Perry: Who's that girl
  3. Jump up↑ Katy Perry vedie v nomináciách na MTV Video Music Awards
  4. Jump up↑ Katy Perry dostala 5 singlov na prvé miesto v Billboard Hot 100

TIE PíSMENá ZAšKRTANé V MODROM STAčí  DRžAť PRAVé TLAčIDLO A PREJSť

 VIOLETTA    je argentínsky dramatický seriál, niekedy uvádzaný aj ako telenovela, ktorý mal premiéru 14. mája 2012 na Disney Channel Latinská Amerika. Na Slovensku sa vysiela na stanici Disney Channel Česko od 11. novembra 2013.

Seriál Violetta rozpráva príbeh hudobne nadanej tínedžerky (hraje argentínska herečka Martina Stoessel), ktorá sa vracia do svojho rodného Buenos Aires so svojím otcom po tom, čo žili dlhé roky v Európe.

Každá epizóda obsahuje originálne hudobné čísla rôznych hudobných žánrov

PRIBEH

Violetta je tínedžerka, ktorá zatiaľ nevie o svojom speváckom talente. Ten zdedila po svojej mame, slávnej speváčke, ktorá tragicky zahynula, keď mala Violetta 5 rokov.

Jej otec Germán je veľmi úspešný muž, ktorý svoju dcéru miluje, aj keď je často prísny a prehnane sa ju snaží chrániť. Má strach, aby sa Violetta nevydala v stopách svojej matky, preto sa rozhodne čo najviac vymazať minulosť a spomienky na jej nešťastný osud.

Po tragickej nehode sa presťahujú do Madridu a otec sám vychováva Violettu v takmer dokonalej izolácii bez možnosti kontaktu s jej rovesníkmi. Germán vie, že jeho dcéra má hudobné nadanie, preto ju podporuje v hre na klavír. Zakazuje jej ale herectvo a spev.

Všetko sa zmení, keď sa obaja vrátia domov do Buenos Aires. Violetta sa začína učiť hrať na klavír v prestížnej hudobnej škole !Studio 21!. Stretáva tu Angie, novú domácu učiteľkou a vychovávateľku, ktorá jej pomáha rozvíjať jej talent. Spozná ale aj veľa ďalších ľudí, ktorí prispievajú k Violettinej postupnej premene. Medzi nimi napríklad Tomása a Leóna, dvoch úplne odlišných chlapcov, ktorí sa do nej zamilujú a súperia o jej srdce.

New York (-normovaný názov ; nenormované názvy často používané na zabránenie zámeny s rovnomenným štátom: New York City a City of New York ; kastíl. Nueva York; slovenské príd. meno znie newyorský [t.j. bez -k-]) je najľudnatejšie mesto USA a jeho metropolitná oblasť patrí medzi najľudnatejšie na svete. Mesto bolo založené Holanďanmi v roku 1624 ako obchodné stredisko New Amsterdam (hol.Nieuw-Amsterdam - Nový Amsterdam) a od roku 1790 je najväčším mestom Spojených štátov. New York bol tiež prvým hlavným mestom Spojených štátov po prijatí ústavy. V súčasnosti je jedným zo svetových centier obchodu a finančníctva. Samé má ročný hrubý domáci produkt približne 500 miliárd USD, čo by z neho pri pomyselnom porovnaní so štátmi sveta činilo šestnástu najväčšiu ekonomiku planéty. New York má aj globálny vplyv v oblasti médií, politiky, vzdelania, zábavy, umenia, módy a reklamy. Je aj ohniskom medzinárodných vzťahov a diplomacie, pretože sa tu nachádza sídlo OSN.

Mesto sa nachádza na východe USA v južnom cípe pri ústí rieky Hudson do Atlantického oceánu. Nachádza sa v strede megalopolisu Boswash, 350 km od Bostonu a 353 km od Washingtonu. New York tvorí päť štvrtí: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens a Staten Island. Z nich iba Bronx je spojený s pevninou, ostatné obvody ležia na ostrovoch. S viac ako 8,3 miliónmi obyvateľov žijúcimi na ploche 789 km² je New York zároveň najhustejšie zaľudneným mestom Spojených štátov.

       London      

London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom.^[3] It is the most populous city in the United Kingdom with a metropolitan area of over 13 million inhabitants. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.^[4] London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km²) mediaeval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.^[5] The bulk of this conurbation forms the Greater London administrative area (coterminous with the London region),^{[6][7][note 1]} governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.^{[8][note 2]}

London is a leading global city,^[9][10] with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.^[11] It is one of the world's leading financial centres^[12][13][14] and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement.^{[note 3][15][16]} London is a world cultural capital.^{[17][18][19][20]} It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals^[21] and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic.^[22] London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe.^[23] In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.^[24]

London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within Greater London.^[25] The region had an official population of 8,416,535 in 2013,^[2] making it the most populous municipality in the European Union,^[26] and accounting for 12.5% of the UK population.^[27] London's urban area is the second-largest in the EU with a population of 9,787,426 according to the 2011 census.^[28] London's metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with a total population of 13,614,409,^{[note 4][29]} while the Greater London Authority puts the population of London metropolitan region at 21 million.^[30] London was the world's most populous city from around 1831 to 1925.^[31]

London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory, Greenwich marks the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and GMT).^[32] Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Library and 40 West End theatres.^[33] The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.^[34][35]

History

Toponymy

 

The name London may derive from the River Thames

The etymology of London is uncertain.^[36] It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century. It is recorded c. 121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin.^[36] The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae.^[36] This had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud.^[37]

From 1898, it was commonly accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos; this explanation has since been rejected.^[36] Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that it is derived from the pre-Celtic Old European *(p)lowonida, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London; from this, the settlement gained the Celtic form of its name, *Lowonidonjon;^[38] this requires quite a serious amendment however. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *(h)lōndinion (as opposed to *londīnion), from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name.

Until 1889, the name "London" officially only applied to the City of London but since then it has also referred to the County of London and now Greater London.^[5]

Prehistory

Two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area. In 1999, the remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the foreshore north of Vauxhall Bridge.^[39] This bridge either crossed the Thames, or went to a (lost) island in the river. Dendrology dated the timbers to 1500BC.^[39] In 2010 the foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4500BC, were found on the Thames foreshore, south of Vauxhall Bridge.^[40] The function of the mesolithic structure is not known. Both structures are on South Bank, at a natural crossing point where the River Effra flows into the River Thames.^[40]

 

In 1300, the City was still confined within the Roman walls.

Roman London

Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans in 43 AD.^[41] This lasted for just seventeen years and around 61, the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it, burning it to the ground.^[42] The next, heavily planned, incarnation of Londinium prospered and superseded Colchester as the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height during the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of around 60,000. From 410 AD onwards, Roman rule in Britain was on the decline but even as late as 425 AD^[43] Roman culture was still evident in many villas and towns. This period of cultural erosion would last until the end of the 5th century.^[44]

Anglo-Saxon London

 

The Lancastrian siege of London in 1471 is attacked by a Yorkist sally.

With the collapse of Roman rule in the early 5th century, London ceased to be a capital and the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued in the St Martin-in-the-Fields area until around 450.^[45] From around 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed in the same area, slightly to the west of the old Roman city.^[46] By about 680, it had revived sufficiently to become a major port, although there is little evidence of large-scale production of goods. From the 820s the town declined because of repeated Viking attacks, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that it was "refounded" by Alfred the Great in 886. Archaeological research shows that this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls. London then grew slowly until about 950, after which activity increased dramatically.^[47]

By the 11th century, London was beyond all comparison the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey, rebuilt in the Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor, was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had previously been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England, but from this time on, London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton: "It had the resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital."^[48][49]

Middle Ages

 

Westminster Abbey, as seen in this painting (Canaletto, 1749), is a World Heritage Site and one of London's oldest and most important buildings

Following his victory in the Battle of Hastings, William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly finished Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.^[50] William constructed the Tower of London, the first of the many Norman castles in England to be rebuilt in stone, in the southeastern corner of the city, to intimidate the native inhabitants.^[51] In 1097, William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster.^[52][53]

During the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto accompanied the royal English court as it moved around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed in one place. In most cases this was Westminster, although the royal treasury, having been moved from Winchester, came to rest in the Tower. While the City of Westminster developed into a true capital in governmental terms, its distinct neighbour, the City of London, remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre, and it flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. In 1100, its population was around 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.^[54]

Disaster struck during the Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population.^[55] London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.^[56]

Early modern

 

The Great Fire of London destroyed many parts of the city in 1666.

 

London in 1806

During the Tudor period the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism, with much of London passing from church to private ownership.^[57] The traffic in woollen cloths shipped undyed and undressed from London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries where it was considered indispensable.^[58] But the tentacles of English maritime enterprise hardly extended beyond the seas of north-west Europe. The commercial route to Italy and the Mediterranean Sea normally lay through Antwerp and over the Alps; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan. Upon the re-opening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 there at once ensued a strong outburst of commercial activity.^[59] The Royal Exchange was founded.^[60] Mercantilism grew and monopoly trading companies such as the East India Company were established, with trade expanding to the New World. London became the principal North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.^[57]

In the 16th century William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London at a time of hostility to the development of the theatre. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still very compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, through the Gunpowder Plot on 5 November 1605.^[61] London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century,^[62] culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.^[63]

The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings.^[64] Rebuilding took over ten years and was supervised by Robert Hooke^[65][66][67] as Surveyor of London.^[68] In 1708 Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral was completed. During the Georgian era new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; and new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London. In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream.

In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House and it was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century, London was dogged by crime and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force.^[69] In total, more than 200 offences were punishable by death,^[70] including petty theft.^[71] Most children born in the city died before reaching their third birthday.^[72] The coffeehouse became a popular place to debate ideas, with growing literacy and the development of the printing press making news widely available; and Fleet Street became the centre of the British press.

According to Samuel Johnson:

You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

—Samuel Johnson, 1777^[73]

Late modern and contemporary

 

British volunteer recruits in London, August 1914

 

A bombed-out London street during the Blitz of the Second World War

London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925.^[74] London's overcrowded conditions led to cholera epidemics,^[75] claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866.^[76] Rising traffic congestion led to the creation of the world's first local urban rail network. The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some of the surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of those areas of the counties surrounding the capital. London was bombed by the Germans during the First World War while during the Second World War the Blitz and other bombing by the German Luftwaffe killed over 30,000 Londoners and destroyed large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city. Immediately after the war, the 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium, at a time when London had barely recovered from the war.

In 1951, the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank. The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956, which ended the "pea soup fogs" for which London had been notorious. From the 1940s onwards, London became home to a large number of immigrants, largely from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of the most diverse cities in Europe.

Primarily starting in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for the worldwide youth culture, exemplified by the Swinging London subculture associated with the King's Road, Chelsea and Carnaby Street. The role of trendsetter was revived during the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was subjected to bombing attacks by the Provisional IRA. Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot. Greater London's population declined steadily in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration as the Canary Wharf development. This was borne out of London's ever-increasing role as a major international financial centre during the 1980s.

The Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, which left London as the only large metropolis in the world without a central administration. In 2000, London-wide government was restored, with the creation of the Greater London Authority. To celebrate the start of the 21st century, the Millennium Dome, London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, making London the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times.^[77]

Government

London
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of London
Sovereign: Elizabeth II
Greater London Authority Mayor: Boris Johnson Deputy: Victoria Borwick 1998 referendum; 1999 Act; 2007 Act London Assembly - Constituencies: London Assembly election, 2012 Mayoral elections;
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Parliamentary constituencies in London London results of UK 2010 election
European Parliament constituency 2009 election
Boroughs; Inns of Court; London local elections, 2010
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v t e

Local government

The administration of London is formed of two tiers—a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.^[78] The GLA consists of two elected components; the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, who scrutinise the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Southwark; the mayor is Boris Johnson. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which was most recently revised in 2011.^[79] The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.^[80] They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management, are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010 the combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA).^[81]

Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police Force, overseen by the Mayor through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).^[82][83] The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police.^[84] The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail and London Underground services.^[85]

The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London. It is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third largest fire service in the world.^[86] National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust, the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world.^[87] The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames,^[88][89] which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to the sea.^[90]

National government

London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom. Many government departments are based close to the Palace of Westminster, particularly along Whitehall, including the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street.^[91] The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this sobriquet was first applied to England itself by John Bright)^[92] because it has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments. There are 73 Members of Parliament (MPs) from London, who correspond to local parliamentary constituencies in the national Parliament. Of these, 38 are from the Labour Party, 28 are Conservatives, and 7 are Liberal Democrats.

Geography

Scope

 

Satellite view of inner London

Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London.^{[note 5]} The small, ancient City of London at its core once contained the whole settlement, but as the urban area grew the City Corporation resisted attempts to amalgamate it with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number ways for different purposes.^[93] Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses.^[94][95]

The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are omitted and some places just outside are included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places.^[96]

Outward urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt,^[97] although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, resulting in a separately defined Greater London Urban Area. Beyond this is the vast London commuter belt.^[98] Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London.^[99] The city is split by the River Thames into North and South, with an informal central London area in its interior. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally considered to be the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, are approximately

WikiMiniAtlas

51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750.^[100]

Status

Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are the ceremonial counties.^[101] The area of Greater London has incorporated areas that were once part of the historic counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire.^[102] London's status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed officially—by statute or in written form.^{[note 6]}

Its position was formed through constitutional convention, making its status as de facto capital a part of the UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.^[106] More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context is known as London.^[6]

Topography

 

London skyline from Parliament Hill

 

the Victoria Memorial in the snow in 2009

Greater London encompasses a total area of 1,583 square kilometres (611 sq mi), an area which had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 4,542 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,760 /sq mi). The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi) has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of 1,510 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,900 /sq mi).^[107] Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.^[108]

Since the Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries now flow underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.^[109] The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level by the slow 'tilting' of Britain (up in the north and down in the south) caused by post-glacial rebound.^[110]

In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the Thames Barrier across the Thames at Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2070, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.^[111]

Climate

 

London fog with the Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster in the background

London has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), similar to much of southern Britain. Despite its reputation as being a rainy city, London receives less precipitation (with 601 mm (24 in) in a year), than Rome (at 834 mm (33 in)), Bordeaux (at 923 mm (36 in)), Toulouse (at 668 mm (26 in)), and Naples (at 1,006 mm (40 in) per year).^{[112][113][114][115][116]} Temperature extremes for all sites in the London area range from 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) at Kew during August 2003, (which has been proposed to be the UK's highest 'accurate' temperature)^[117] down to −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) at Northolt during January 1962.^[118] Temperatures of below −20 °C (−4.0 °F) have been noted prior to the 20th century, but the accuracy cannot be validated.

Summers are generally warm and sometimes hot, the heat being boosted by the urban heat island effect making the centre of London at times 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than the suburbs and outskirts. London's average July high is 24 °C (75.2 °F). During the 2003 European heat wave there were 14 consecutive days above 30 °C (86.0 °F) and 2 consecutive days where temperatures reached 38 °C (100.4 °F), leading to hundreds of heat related deaths. Rain generally occurs on around two out of 10 summer days. Spring and autumn are mixed seasons and can be pleasant. On 1 October 2011, the air temperature attained 30 °C (86.0 °F) and in April 2011 it reached 28 °C (82.4 °F).