Oxford is a city in central southern England, the home of the University of Oxford. The city is the county town of Oxfordshire, and forms a district within the county.
It has a population of just under 165,000, of whom 153,900 live within
the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as the Isis locally) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre.
Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ("Cfb" by the Köppen system). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford was −16.6°C (2.1°F) in January 1982. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 35.6°C (96°F) in August 2003 during the 2003 European heat wave.
| Climate data for Oxford, UK | |||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
22.1 (71.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
34.3 (93.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
33.5 (92.3) |
27.3 (81.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
15.2 (59.4) |
35.6 (96.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.8 (44.2) |
7.4 (45.3) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.2 (70.2) |
18.5 (65.3) |
14.2 (57.6) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
13.9 (57.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) |
1.4 (34.5) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.3 (39.7) |
7.2 (45.0) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.2 (54.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
9.8 (49.6) |
6.8 (44.2) |
3.8 (38.8) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.1 (43.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −16.6 (2.1) |
−16.2 (2.8) |
−10.9 (12.4) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
1.3 (34.3) |
4.4 (39.9) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−16.6 (2.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 52.6 (2.071) |
41.0 (1.614) |
41.1 (1.618) |
43.9 (1.728) |
50.6 (1.992) |
53.3 (2.098) |
59.5 (2.343) |
58.3 (2.295) |
60.3 (2.374) |
65.3 (2.571) |
61.8 (2.433) |
55.8 (2.197) |
643.5 (25.335) |
| Sunshine hours | 54.3 | 70.3 | 113.3 | 151.8 | 191.8 | 196.9 | 191.6 | 180.3 | 138.3 | 102.8 | 64.4 | 48.8 | 1,504.3 |
| Source: Radcliffe Meteorological Station (NB: Data from the period 1881–2004) | |||||||||||||
The average conditions above are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station. It boasts the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain. These records are continuous from January, 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud and temperature exist from 1767.
Oxford has a diverse economy, which includes manufacturing, publishing and science-based industries as well as education, research and tourism.
Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford, is based in the city, although it no longer operates its own paper mill and printing house.
Oxford University Press
The largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press.
The university became involved in the print trade around 1480, and grew into a major printer of Bibles, prayer books, and scholarly works.
The city is also home to the UK operations of Wiley-Blackwell, and several smaller publishing houses.
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