Best of British

Everyone likes to talk about the weather. It's a national pastime - one of the most talked about subjects in daily life. This new book is both a look back - and forwards, at British weather, using authoritative statistics and data from Met Office experts. A unique and entertaining reference, The Met Office Book of the British Weather shows the British weather over a 30 year period from 1971-2000 and how it could change in the future.

Weather and climate are represented in colourful maps showing every aspect of local and national weather over the years. The maps chart sunshine hours, rainfall, temperature, wind and many other aspects of the weather. Split into sections - the Weather Month By Month, Sunshine and Temperature by Season, Wind and Rain by Season, Extreme Weather by Season, and the Future of British Weather - the book covers the past and future of British weather in detail.

"It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather."

18th century writer, Samuel Johnson

Want to know what the weather could be like in 2040? The Future of British Weather chapter can tell you using the most up to date information. The data comes from the UK Climate Projections released in 2009 (UKCP09) which are the most comprehensive projections ever published to provide information on how Britain's climate is likely to change in the 21st century, as it responds to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The projections were produced from multiple runs of a global climate model developed by the Met Office Hadley Centre and runs of 12 of the world's other leading climate models.

Authored by John Prior, manager of the National Climate Information Centre at the Met Office, the book is the fourth in a line of books over the last two years that have been successfully produced in association with the Met Office. It follows 'Weather' published by Dorling Kindersley along with 'Extraordinary Clouds' and 'The Cloud Book' also published by David and Charles. John Prior describes the book as, "an original, interesting and usable volume that makes Met Office science more accessible."

• The  The Met Office Book of the Great British Weather is a great book for you, or to give away as a gift - because everyone likes to talk about the weather.