UK temperatures are on a "clear upward trajectory", having continuously risen at a rate of about 0.25°C per decade from the 1980s, or 1°C in 40 years, the country's weather agency the Met Office said today.
The past 10 years — 2015-24 — were 0.41°C warmer than 1991-2020 and 1.24°C hotter than 1961-1990, the Met Office found. Over a longer timeframe, historical data show that the 21st century "so far has overall been warmer than any period of equivalent length within the previous three centuries", the Met Office said. The period 2001-2024 was 1.0°C hotter than 1901-2000, and 1.3°C above 1801-1900 and 1701-1800, its data show.
The agency has comprehensive temperature and rainfall data extending back to the 19th century, as well as the Central England Temperature series, which dates back to 1659 and is the world's longest continuous instrumental temperature record.
Weather extremes have also become "increasingly commonplace" in the UK, particularly for heat and rainfall, the Met Office said. The UK has experienced a steady increase in rainfall since the 1980s, while the hottest summer days have warmed "around twice as much as average summer days", from 1961-1990 to 2015-24, it found.
And sea level rise around the UK "is accelerating", the Met Office noted. The sea level around the UK has risen by about 19.5cm since 1901, "with two-thirds of this rise happening in just over the last three decades", it said.
"This pace of change and clustering of consecutive records is not a natural variation in our climate. Numerous studies have shown how human emissions of greenhouse gasses are warming the atmosphere and changing the weather we experience on the ground," Met Office climate scientist Mike Kendon said.
The UK government "remains steadfast in its commitment" to several multilateral climate and environment agreements, it said today. The government reiterated the steps it is taking to tackle climate change — largely based around cutting emissions and restoring nature.
UK warming is consistent with the global increase in surface air temperatures, the Met Office said. The World Meteorological Organisation said in May that record-high global temperatures are likely to continue.
