| It was reported that the Granite City had the highest level of sunshine in the country during 2004, pipping Dundee for the honour it has held for a number of years.
However, a spokes-person for the Met Office said that over the long-term Dundee remained the sunniest of Scotland’s cities and a creative use of figures had been employed by tourist chiefs in Aberdeen.
She said the official level of sunshine for Dundee, which is measured at Leuchars, remained higher than at Dyce, where figures are collated for Aberdeen.
A spokesman for Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board hailed the results as being a great boost for tourism in the area, but the Met Office warned that figures had been manipulated to suit their means.
“It looks as if someone from the tourist board is making something out of nothing,” said the spokesperson.
“Leuchars is still higher than Dyce in terms of sunshine but they obviously picked up on the fact Leuchars isn’t a city and used it to help themselves. In the long-term Dundee remains sunnier than Aberdeen.”
The city of Discovery has long been proud of its reputation as the sunniest in Scotland and used it as the platform to launch the Dundee Sun City initiative, which aims to encourage the growth of solar and renewable energy for the environmental, economic and social benefit of the city and its residents. |
