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15
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS—1951
I am indebted to the Astronomer Royal, Sir Harold Spencer
Jones, F.R.S., for the following meteorological data for the year
ended December, 1951.
Temperature : The highest temperature in the shade in the
Stevenson Screen was 84.4° on July 28. Temperatures exceeding
80° were recorded on six days, all in July. The lowest temperature
occurred on January 30, when the thermometer fell to 23.7°.
Sunshine : The total recorded sunshine was 1278.5 hours,
155.4 hours less than the average for the 50 years 1897-1946. Most
months were below average, in particular May, August and
September. 122.3 hours in May was the second lowest record for
this month, the lowest being 107.2 hours in May 1932. There were
67 sunless days during the year, 11 in January and 13 in
December.
Rainfall: The year's total was 32.53 inches, 8.20 inches
above the mean for the 100 years 1841-1940. February, with
5.94 inches, was the wettest month of the year and the wettest
February on record. The previous highest record for this month
was 4.03 inches in 1866. Taken together the four months JanuaryApril
were also the wettest on record with 14.16 inches, exceeding
the previous highest record of 12.85 inches in 1937 for this period,
the average for which is only 6.75 inches. November was also wet,
with 4.41 inches, and 1.34 inches of rain fell during the 24-hour
period from 9 a.m. on September 27 to 9 a.m. on September 28.
The driest month was October with 0.91 inches.
BIRTHS
The total number of live births registered in the Borough during
the year was 1,446 and of this number, 873 occurred in St. Alfege's
Hospital, 105 in various Nursing Homes and 468 in private dwellings.
In 604 cases the parents resided outside the Borough and the births
were consequently transferred to the appropriate districts, leaving
a figure of 842. To this must be added 509 births belonging to the
Borough which took place in Institutions outside the Borough, thus
making a final figure for Greenwich of 1,351 a decrease of 142 from
that of the previous year. Of this total 708 were males and 643
females.