THE Met Office’s fourth annual State of the UK Climate report confirms 2017 was the fifth warmest year in a record dating back to 1910.
It shows the UK climate is warming.
Average temperature over the last decade (2008-2017) was 0.8 °C warmer than the 1961-1990 average, whilst there has also been eight per cent more rainfall and six per cent more sunshine.
In contrast to summer 2018, UK summers have been notably wetter over the most recent decade, with a 20 per cent increase in rainfall compared to 1961-1990.
Dr Mark McCarthy from the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: “Our climate is changing, globally and here in the UK.
“People may not recall 2017 as having been a particularly warm year, with a relatively wet summer and snow in December.
“Despite this, when looking at the longer-term perspective 2017 was still more than 1 oC warmer than our 1961-1990 baseline and ranks fifth warmest year overall for the UK.”
Nine of the ten warmest years for the UK have occurred since 2002, and the top ten have all occurred since 1990.
The Central England Temperature series, which extends back to 1659, shows that the 21st century (since 2001) has so far been warmer than the previous three centuries.
Mean sea level around the UK has risen at a rate of approximately 1.4 mm per year since the start of the 20th Century, equivalent to a rise of about 16 cm.
