Is London further north than Ottawa?
Yes. London, at 51.5° N, lies about 680 km further north than Ottawa, at 45.4° N.
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Why it surprises
Few people would guess that London and Dublin both lie further north than Canada’s capital. London’s centre is at 51.5° N and Ottawa’s at 45.4° N, so London is about 680 km further north. The confusion comes from the weather. In Ottawa, the average January temperature at the airport was about −10 °C over 1991–2020, the sort of cold Britain almost never sees. The difference is the sea. Water has a higher heat capacity than land, so it warms and cools much more slowly. The air that reaches Britain has usually crossed the Atlantic, which keeps its winters mild and its summers cool. Ottawa’s air arrives over a continent instead. So the northern city has the gentler winter, and the southern capital the harsh one.
Sources for this explanation
- Royal Meteorological Society: metlink.org, checked 25 October 2026
- Environment and Climate Change Canada: climate.weather.gc.ca, checked 25 October 2026
Where the numbers come from
Each city is placed by Wikidata’s coordinate for its centre, cross-checked with Natural Earth’s populated places. Details: London and Ottawa.
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