THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they can say what is regarded officially as the normal temperature for January.]
§ LORD WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, the normal temperature for January at a particular place is the mean January temperature measured at that place and averaged over a period of years. The usual period is the thirty years from 1931 to 1960.
THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether that is really a clear statement of the temperature to the general public? Is this term used deliberately to evade, or is it intended to convey a precise meaning of what the temperature is going to be?
§ LORD WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, the problem is defining what is meant by "mild" and "cold". In winter two to three degrees Centigrade above normal is regarded as mild and two to three degrees Centigrade below normal is regarded as cold. That is the best I can do for the noble Earl.
§ LORD CONESFORDMy Lords, can the noble Lord say why the occurrence of cold weather in winter invariably fills every nationalised industry with surprise?
§ LORD WADEMy Lords, in view of the reply given, may I ask whether the expression "normal" means average, and, if so, does it imply anything more than that sometimes it is colder and sometimes it is warmer?
§ LORD WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, that is a nice point. The noble Lord will have noticed that I used two phrases—"normal temperature" end "mean temperature". The normal temperature is the average of the mean temperature.
§ LORD TEVIOTMy Lords, can the noble Lord tell us whether the period taken, the years 1931 to 1960, could not be altered and brought up to date?
§ LORD WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, this particular time span has been agreed internationally by the World Meteorological Organisation and as time passes and the averages or mean alter, perhaps the time span for calculation also will be altered.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, in order to make the position quite clear, could the noble Lord tell us whether the temperature to-day in London is normal?
THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, could the noble Lord tell us how every month of 1 he year is regarded, roughly, as mean, normal or average?
§ LORD WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, I will write to the noble Earl and give him what are considered to be the normal temperatures for all 12 months of the year.