The number of ‘very hot’ days that bake Britons in 30C heat or above has trebled, according to innovative new research.
In spite of this year’s disappointing summer of washed out BBQs and cold spells, the UK’s climate is still overall getting sunnier, wetter and warmer, the Met Office said today.
In its latest annual review of Britain’s favourite topic of conversation, the weather, the Met Office has begun measuring the number of “high impact weather events” that disrupt daily life, such as extremely hot days, or days with exceptional amounts of rain.
It found the number of “hot” days of 28C or more per year has doubled in the decade to 2024 compared with the average from the period 1961-1990, while “very hot” days of at least 30C have trebled.
It comes as “truly staggering” global temperatures smashed records two days in a row this week.
The UK is getting not just hotter but soggier too, with 20% more days of exceptional rain in the last decade compared to the average from 1961-1990.
The country is still recovering from its 18 wettest months on record, which brought misery for struggling farmers and train passengers.
Prof Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society that published the report, said the increased heatwaves and floods have “a profound impact on communities, whether that’s putting a strain on the healthcare sector, damaging the infrastructure around us or disrupting our daily lives”.
“And we also have seen an increase in the number of deaths due to either heat, floods or storms.”
The number of days a year when temperatures pass 28C has doubled
Many parts of the UK are experiencing more wet days
Not only are there more hot days, but the heat is spreading further around the country too, leaving more Brits sweating it out in 28C or more.
On average between 1961-1990, only London and Hampshire in the sunny south east of England recorded six or more days a year above 28C.
But in the last decade, this spread all around England and Wales.
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Why has it been cold in the UK despite climate change?
The news may be hard to believe for those disappointed by a dreary and soggy summer.
Prof Bentley said this year has been “unusual” because of a variation in the jet stream.
“But that doesn’t mean to say that’s going to be the climate of the future going forward.”
The Met Office’s Mike Kendon said the UK’s characteristically changeable weather will continue to vary. “We get some warm months, we get some cold months… What we’re really interested in is looking at patterns over time.”
He added: “And what we’re seeing is a lot more extreme months that than we used to.”
Now roughly one in four months, one in three seasons, and every other year is in the top ten warmest, while there has been a “complete collapse” in the occurrence of top ten coldest months, he said.
And a “far higher” average UK temperature is already on the cards in the current climate, before more warming takes place. “So we could get a year substantially warmer than in 2022 or 2023,” said Mr Kendon.
What is the government doing to help the country cope?
Prof Bentley said the report, State of the UK Climate 2023, “really does underscore the urgency” of the need to cut emissions to slow climate change, but also ramp up “adaptive measures” to protect British citizens, infrastructure and ecosystems from the impacts.
This week campaigners have taken the government to court over its adaptation plan, which they argue fails to protect communities from climate change.
The new Labour government has chosen to defend the strategy – produced last year under the previous administration – despite a warning last week from its climate advisers that it was “unambitious” and should be strengthened.
A government spokesperson declined to comment on the court case, but said it is tackling the climate crisis by making Britain a “clean energy superpower” and accelerating towards net zero.
To prepare for the impacts of climate change, it will “improve the durability of our infrastructure, enhance protections against flooding, create a resilient food supply chain and plant millions of trees, all while turbocharging green growth”, they added.