UK UK's Wild Weather: Met Office Warns of Climate Shift

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Shutterstock

 

Britain is shattering heat and rainfall records as its climate warms, warns the Met Office. The latest report highlights a transformation in the UK's weather, with more scorching days and fewer frosty nights.

 

Climate change is intensifying severe weather events like storms and flooding, affecting wildlife and natural habitats.

 

2024 saw the second-warmest February, the warmest May, and spring on record, while 2025 is already eclipsing these milestones. This year, a third heatwave has gripped Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and southern England. Yorkshire enforced a hosepipe ban after the warmest June in history, following the driest spring in over a century.

 

The Environment Agency declared parts of Yorkshire and northwest England in drought, expecting more areas to follow. Mike Kendon of the Met Office stated, "Each year marks another step up in our warming climate."

 

The UK, positioned between the Atlantic and Europe, experiences fluctuating weather, but now it’s both hotter and wetter. Winter rainfall from 2015-2024 increased by 16% compared to 1961-1990. Global temperature rises, driven by human emissions, have increased UK temperatures by approximately 0.25°C per decade since 1961-1990.

 

The UK's Central England Temperature record, maintained by the Met Office, shows recent warming outpacing over 300 years of data. The last three years were among the UK's five warmest on record. Even slight temperature shifts can escalate extreme weather events.

 

Flooding and storms have intensified, causing severe damage. Storms in late 2023 led to record flooding by early 2024. Eastern Scotland, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and the West Midlands were notably affected. Flooding even forced the Royal Shakespeare Company to cancel shows.

 

Met Office Chief Scientist Professor Stephen Belcher emphasised the necessity of UK adaptation to future climate extremes. The report also noted that UK sea levels are rising faster than average, increasing future flood risks.

 

The natural world is also changing. Spring 2024 was exceptionally early, affecting species like dormice and hedgehogs, which struggle when warm weather impacts food availability.

 

At Alice Holt research centre, experts are exploring how to enhance the resilience of trees and forests. Many current tree species cannot withstand the changing climate. Coastal redwoods from California, however, show promise for future UK forests.

 

The Met Office's findings underscore the urgent need for climate adaptation and resilience planning as the UK faces an evolving and unpredictable climate future.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-07-16

 

 

[Donga]

OMG the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

So much selective drivel - hard to choose the most telling, but how about.. Winter rainfall from 2015-2024 increased by 16% compared to 1961-1990. What, they lose the data between 1990-2015?

Not surprising that somewhere around the world, weather records have been broken - a zillion cities, regions, rivers to call upon for the Daily Doomsday.

But the lengths they'll go to, they either have no shame or missing the logic gene.

[lavender19]

Stopped reading after I scrolled down and saw this came from the BBC.

[blazes]

Canadians (excluding the Gretta crowd) welcome Climate Change (which recently used to be called "Global Warming").

 

It shortens our winters and makes it possible to grow more fruit and veg.....