Luke Howard's Legacy

Sunday 26 December
2pm - 5pm
Bruce Castle Museum
Join us for an afternoon of activities celebrating his work
and exploring what his achievements mean today.
Programme
2pm Introduction and welcome
2.15pm Introduction to Urban Climate Walks by urban climate architect, Julie Futcher
Followed by group discussions on what to include in a Tottenham Urban Climate walk.
3.30pm Break
3.45pm Panel discussion on climate, energy, weather and the challenge of climate change. The talks will be by Pamela Harling (En10ergy), Alan Morton (En10ergy) and Quentin Given (Friends of the Earth).
4.15pm Jonathan Pie at COP 26
4.30pm End of the Luke Howard 250 anniversary year:
Message from Berndnaut Smilde, creator of indoor clouds
 
Anthony Howell will be reading from Luke Howard’s essays.

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The Inspiring Mr Howard

Wednesday 22 November 2.30pm
Edmonton Hundred Historical Society
Jubilee Hall, Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AJ
The celebrations of the 250th anniversary year of Luke Howard (28 November 1772 - 21 March 1864) are drawing to a close and we are fortunate in having a talk by Margaret Burr, local historian and founding member of Tottenham Clouds.

“Luke Howard identified virtually all of the factors that are responsible for the urban heat island (UHI) – that he did so in 1820, at the very beginning of the scientific study of weather and climate is remarkable. By any measure, ‘Luke Howard’s account is monumental’.” International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC)

The German philosopher, statesman and poet, Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote a poem “In Honour of Mr Howard” and described him as “such an excellent man”.

At Jubilee Hall, Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AJ (getting there).
Doors open 2 pm for refreshments, meeting is at 2.30 pm.

Memory Cloud Atlas:
putting Tottenham on the map!

Look at the clouds which were contributed to the Memory Cloud Atlas on Cloud Appreciation Day 2023 - Friday 15 September from Tottenham and across the globe here.

All skies contributed to the Atlas will remain online after Cloud Appreciation Day, preserving the views of cloudspotters for others to explore and serving as a snapshot on a single day of our collective appreciation for the most dynamic, evocative and accessible part of nature: the sky.

Met Office daily weather reports
now available online!

Do you want to know what the weather was like on the day you were born or what the weather was like on any other important date from 1860?

Daily weather report

Commemorating the 250 anniversary of the birth of Luke Howard
1772 - 2022
The 250th anniversary has generated an enthusiasm for a year of celebrations to honour Luke Howard, Namer of Clouds, and to understand more about the observations and measurements taken by him which are still important to Urban Climate scientists today.
Past Events

Cloud Appreciation Day 2023
The Luke Howard exhibition, an exploration of the 2023 Memory Cloud Atlas, talks, drawing workshop and lots of fun activities for children here.

London Urban Climate walks led by urban climate architect, Julie Futcher.
Report on the walks here

Met Office
Helen Roberts, Socio-Meteorologist from the Weather and Climate Extremes and Impacts Team welcomed us to the Met Office for a bespoke Tottenham Clouds tour.
Report of the visit and learn about the work of the Met Office here

Science Museum
Alexandra Rose, Curator of Earth Sciences and Astronomy, welcomed us to the Science Museum and took us to the Library to see Luke Howard books. There were also documents, papers and certificates covering many of his interests. We also visited the 'Making the Modern World' gallery to see his barograph clock.
Report of the visit here

Luke Howard’s Climate of London:
The Work of an Observational Genius
Professor Gerald Mills, urban climatologist, University College Dublin, talk held at Bruce Castle Museum
Link to presentation here

Visit to Quaker Burial Ground
at Winchmore Hill and the laying of a wreath at the grave of Luke Howard on the anniversary of his death - 21 March 1864.
Report of the visit here
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Luke Howard 250 anniversary tote bag is available at Bruce Castle Museum and at the events commemorating this inspiring figure.

The recycled cotton bag, designed by local artist David Flint, sells for £2.50.

Haringey articles about Luke Howard
Chasing Clouds: celebrating the pioneering meteorologist, Luke Howard, on the 250th anniversary of his birth.
Haringey Community Press November 2022 p13

The Namer of Clouds looking back at the life and legacy of Luke Howard.
Haringey People Spring 23 p10
Luke Howard: Father of Urban Climate Science
The genius of Luke Howard’s cloud classification scheme is that it provides a visual description of cloud types that are universally recognisable and linked to underlying atmospheric process. The same intellect is evident in the pages of Climate of London where Howard’s rigorous approach to measurement and analysis revealed the Urban Heat Island phenomenon and its causes.

For this reason, Luke Howard is recognised by the International Association for Urban Climates (IAUC) as the father of urban climate science.

Read the full anniversary message from the IAUC here
Discover Luke Howard's links to Goethe, Tottenham and the naming of clouds
Goethe's poem to Luke Howard
Where Luke Howard lived in Tottenham
The naming of clouds