UK already undergoing disruptive climate change

The UK is already undergoing disruptive climate change with increased rainfall, sunshine and temperatures, according to scientists.

The year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest on record, scientists said in the latest UK State of the Climate report.

No other year is in the top 10 on all three criteria.

The experts said that, in the space of 30 years, the UK has become 0.9C warmer and 6% wetter.

The report's lead author Mike Kendon, climate information scientist at the UK Met Office, told BBC News: “A lot of people think climate change is in the future – but this proves the climate is already changing here in the UK.

“As it continues to warm we are going to see more and more extreme weather such as heatwaves and floods.”

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The report says the UK has become hotter, sunnier and rainier:

• 2020 was the third warmest UK year since 1884; all the years in the top 10 are since 2002
• Last year was one of the least snowy on record; any snow mainly affected upland and northern areas
• Spring 2020 was the UK’s sunniest on record, and sunnier than most UK summers.
• 2020 was the UK’s fifth wettest year; six of the 10 wettest years have been since 1998
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Scientists warn of worse extreme weather if global temperatures rise and politicians fail to curb carbon emissions.

And in a separate report, scientists warned that greenhouse gas levels were already too high “for a manageable future for humanity“.

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