2022 was a year of unrelenting heat in the UK, as confirmed by the Met Office. The unprecedented warmth has left experts warning that this is just the beginning of a trend that will continue to shape the country’s climate. The record-breaking year saw a temperature of 40.3C (104F) recorded on July 19 at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, making it the first time the UK has experienced a temperature above 40C.
“For me, it was a real milestone,” said Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, who oversaw the journal’s annual report. “I’ve never seen 40C in the UK before, and to break that record, I think was a real milestone.”
The hot and dry summer of 2022 was remarkable, and experts warn that this could become a more frequent occurrence. “If you look at future climate projections, we are on a path [towards] hotter, drier summers,” Bentley emphasized. “So 2022 was very much a sign of things to come.”
The report also highlighted a host of other records set in 2022. The year was warmer than average, except for December, which was the coldest since 2010. All four seasons were in the top 10 hottest since records began in 1884. The past decade, from 2013-22, was also the UK’s warmest.
Climate breakdown, caused by human activities, played a significant role in making the record heat and heatwave more likely. Mike Kendon, lead author of the report, stressed that extreme temperatures are changing faster than the average, and as the climate warms, more high-temperature records will be broken, potentially by wide margins.
UK Faces Rising Heatwave DeathsThe report also examined the rise in sea levels, which has increased by 18.5cm since the 1900s, with 11.4cm of this rise occurring over the past 30 years. Additionally, phenologists, who study recurring biological events in relation to climate, warned of the significant changes occurring in nature.
“Species will react in different ways, and these reactions will impact human life in different ways, but the speed of these changes could cause concern,” said Fritha West, a phenologist at the Woodland Trust.
The report also highlighted the impact on human life, including the least snowy year on record, the driest summer on record, and the seventh sunniest year in the UK since 1919.
Looking ahead, the study forecast that by 2060, under a medium emission scenario, 2022 would be considered an average year in terms of temperature, while by 2100 it would be considered a cool year. Kendon emphasized that the UK’s future climate depends on the decisions made today, and that the science is clear: the longer it takes to reduce emissions, the longer and harder it will be to reduce the impacts being seen.