Here comes the rain again: The people, including BBC NI weather presenter Barra Best, who love Northern Ireland's climate

And with Met Office figures suggesting we’ve had the wettest July on record, we’ve had plenty to talk about. However, far from complaining about our lack of sunny summer weather, there are those that enjoy Northern Ireland’s temperate climate, including BBC NI weather presenter, Barra Best. “I do like our climate. I am not a massive fan of heat. Some of those temperatures that we saw around the Mediterranean, that would not be a holiday for me, that would be an endurance test.

"As disappointing as our weather was, in terms of rainfall in July, we are fortunate that we don’t experience those extremes that they were getting across parts of Europe. It (the heat) may sound good because we are here under the rainfall, but with a lack of air conditioning in homes here and the dangers that the heat can have on people’s lives, like the elderly, it can be particularly dangerous, so I like our climate.”

While most holidaymakers plan their summer trips to coincide with warm weather, industry experts say visitors, dubbed ‘drizzle tourists’ from hotter climates are booking holidays to the UK to escape the heat.

Barra added: “The trips that I do myself around mainland Europe are in the cooler months – I find it easier to put on layers to keep warm, than not be able to keep cool, without having to find the nearest coffee shop or restaurant to get a bit of relief from the blistering heat. I may be one of those ‘drizzle tourists’.”

Hamed Hashemi, 36, said he was glad of Northern Ireland’s more moderate climate when he returned from a recent holiday to Iran to visit family.

"We were near Tehran, where it was around 38°C to 40°C. It was hot and dry. We had to stay indoors a lot – from around 11am to 4pm.

"My kids, especially my five-year-old daughter, found it very hard in Iran because the weather was too hot for her and she is used to the weather here.”

Hamed, whose father is from Iran and mother is from Northern Ireland, grew up most of his life in the Middle Eastern country, and has experienced temperatures of 50 degrees, forcing people to stay indoors.

"In the daytime you wouldn’t see anyone on the streets.”

Hamed, who has lived in Northern Ireland for five years, said he enjoys the temperate climate here.

“I prefer (the weather) here and so do my kids. I like when it’s raining or sunny, I don’t like when it’s cloudy a long time. The winter can be hard, but the rest of the seasons are much better.”

Mark Rodgers of Dalriada Kingdom Tours, which provides visits around the Causeway Coast, said his clients often comment on the Northern Irish weather.

“The people who love our climate the most are visitors from Dubai. They like the moderate climate because for them it’s always extremely hot.

"They like the fact that the weather changes, because for them it’s just constant heat. They like that fact that it’s never too hot, it’s never too cold. They don’t mind a little bit of rain. And not only do they like our climate, they like the food that our climate produces and they love wee simple things like butter and cheese and ice cream, that tastes so extraordinarily good to them.”

Mark added that people from the ‘Sunshine States’ in the US say they are glad to get out of the heat as well.

"The time of the year they love most in Northern Ireland is autumn. They love the colours and that crisp, clean air and the lovely autumnal mornings.”

Mark also enjoys the climate in Northern Ireland.

“I don’t mind it at all. I’m out in all weathers and it doesn’t bother me at all. There’s no such thing as bad weather in Northern Ireland, you just have the wrong clothes.”

Claudia Preston moved back home to Northern Ireland las year after 17 years in America.

Now living just outside Lisburn, Claudia said: “The last places I lived over there were Philly and New Jersey, which have a great climate except for the summer, which is horribly hot and humid (and mosquito and tick-ridden). Even at three in the morning, it would be 90°F and soupy outside.

"Before that, I lived in Massachusetts, where then winters were long and hard. I lived for two years in Florida, where there are basically no seasons and it's always hot and humid.

“So, I love the climate in Northern Ireland. I love the seasons, I love the temperate climate, and I love that we are not experiencing the terrible extremes of weather that Europe and the US are seeing.

"This is definitely the place to be for climate change end of days. I love the changeableness and I am just revelling in it all now that I'm home.

“My friends and family in England asked me this summer and last summer how I was coping with the heat wave. What heat wave? was my response . That alone made me feel lucky to have what we have here.”

Television presenter Joe Mahon, whose new series of Mahon’s Way returns to UTV on August 8, said his two sons and their families are in the Spain at the moment.

"I’m getting photographs of sweltering youngsters. They spend all their time under beach umbrellas, or cooped up in their apartment. So, I am very happy to be here instead of over there. What’s happening to the climate is scaring everyone.

And Joe believes that in years to come more so-called ‘drizzle tourists’ will visit Northern Ireland.

"Ironic as it sounds, I do think that’s going to be a legitimate holiday attraction in years to come. My favourite place to holiday is in this country. And I would not wish to live anywhere else as far as the weather is concerned."

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