Checking the skies over Kew…
Looking up the runway timetable, the wind and the planes landing at Heathrow right now.
Today’s picture will update in a moment.
Looking ahead
Pick the day you’re planning to visit to see when it should be quieter. The further ahead, the more of a guess it is.
Most reliable over the next 7 days. Beyond that we use the runway timetable and assume the usual westerly wind.
How we work it out
The wind sets the direction
Planes land into the wind. Most days the wind comes from the west, so planes approach Heathrow from the east, across Kew. When the wind swings east, they come in from the other side and Kew goes quiet.
Runways swap at 3pm
When planes come in over Kew they use one of two runways, and swap at 3pm to share the noise. One route passes almost directly overhead, the other a little further away. Which comes first changes each week.
How sure we are
Right now we check the planes actually landing. For the next 30 hours or so we use Heathrow’s own aviation forecast (the TAF), then the Met Office model. Heathrow doesn’t change direction with every gust, so neither do we: it only changes when the wind stays past the switch point for a couple of hours.
Only while Kew is open
We only look at the hours you can be in the Gardens, using Kew’s published opening times, which change through the year. From May to September that includes members’ early entry from 8am.