In the summer months TV viewing is vastly reduced, as people enjoy the outdoor or go on holiday and day trips.

But when there are big events taking place, like Wimbledon and Football tournaments, TV viewing increases.

Watching TV via satellite in the summer can be disrupted due to the summer weather.

All electronic signals, be they satellite TV signals, terrestrial TV signals, mobile phone signals, wireless internet signals, and even wifi signals from your router can all be affected by the heat and humidity during the summer months.

This is noticeable on satellite dish TV systems in Spain (and southern Europe)for UK TV, especially for the weaker UK satellite TV signals. These weaker UK TV satellite signals include channels like ITV HD, BBC HD channels, UKTV Group channels (Dave, Drama, Yesterday, W ,Eden, GOLD), and some Discovery channels (like Quest).

For some people with the smallest possible satellite dish (the 110x120ccm satellite dish) for UK TV in my service area (the Costa Blanca North and Valencia areas), these dishes area already operating on the very limit of their reception. Introduce heat and humidity (water particles in the air) and the signals from the satellite have much more difficulty getting through from the satellite to your satellite dish. And this is why you may end up with pixilation or total loss of these weaker UK satellite TV channels, especially at the worst time of day, mid to late afternoon.

The humidity during the afternoon and early evening can also cause drops in speeds in wireless internet systems. So viewing TV and other streaming services via the internet can also be affected by the summer humidity.

The heat is also an issue. Electronic signals do not like heat. The signals do not travel well through hot air. And so the signals for these weaker UK satellite TV channels have much more difficulty getting through to your satellite dish. It also means that signals on similar frequencies on neighbouring satellite can “overpower” the UK TV signals more, again resulting in pixilation or total loss of these UK satellite TV channels.

The LNBs on satellite dishes, and  antennas for wireless internet systems, do not like the heat. They can overheat, resulting in a drop in performance.

And if your satellite dish is not aligned correctly or accurately enough, or your satellite dish is warped, then the drop in signal levels and the loss of channels will be more apparent.

High air pressure in your area can bend or reflect TV and radio waves, which interferes with the signals sent from transmitters.  For “terrestrial” TV systems that are received via a TV aerial, like Freeview in the UK or TDT in Spain, distant signals are reflected through the atmosphere, resulting in co-channel interference. This can result in scrambled signals and poor reception.

Yet in autumn and winter, the cooler temperatures and clear skies help with signals.