Extreme weather is now the norm for the UK as a result of climate change, according to meteorologists.
The Met Office said its latest assessment of the UK’s climate shows how baselines are shifting, records are becoming more frequent, and temperature and rainfall extremes are becoming the norm.
The ‘State of the UK climate’ report shows how the UK’s climate has warmed steadily from the 1980s onwards, albeit with individual cooler years. The last three years have been in the UK’s top five warmest on record, with 2024 the fourth warmest year in records dating back to 1884.
The number of days with temperatures 5°C above the 1961-1990 average has doubled for the most recent decade 2015-2024 compared to 1961-1990. For 8°C above average, the number has trebled and for 10°C it has quadrupled.
The data also shows increased variability of rainfall, particularly during the winter months. For the period 2015-2024, the winter half-year is now 16% wetter than 1961-1990 for the UK. October 2023 to March 2024 was the wettest winter half-year on record for England and Wales in over 250 years with areas affected by flooding including eastern Scotland, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the West Midlands.
“We are experiencing more severe weather events in the UK due to climate change,” said Met Office chief scientist Professor Stephen Belcher. “They are a potent reminder of our responsibility to citizens now, and to future generations, to accelerate efforts to adapt our society and infrastructure to cope with these weather extremes.”
Agriculture is one of the sectors most vulnerable to extreme weather with periods of both drought and flooding severely impacting yields and putting upward pressure on food prices.
