Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Britain already undergoing climate change

Britain already undergoing climate change

BRITAIN'S climate is already undergoing change as experts warn that extreme weather events, such as floods, heatwaves and droughts, will increase across the world due to the effects of global warming.

Recent decades in Britain have been warmer, wetter and sunnier than in the last century, with last year the third warmest on record, a report by climate scientists said on Thursday (29).


"Average temperatures for the UK continue to climb, with nearly a degree of warming when comparing the most recent 30 years with the preceding 30-year period," said Mike Kenson, lead author and senior climate scientist at the Met Office.

The year 2020 was third warmest after 2014 and 2006, the fifth wettest and eight sunniest on record for the United Kingdom.

"No other year has fallen in the top-10 for all three variables for the UK," the report said.

The State of the UK Climate report is based on observations of temperature, precipitation, sunshine and wind speed from the UK land weather station network managed by the Met Office.

"Our climate is changing and it is changing now and the science is clear that we will see more of it going into the future," Kenson said.

This month, catastrophic floods have swept across northwest Europe, an unprecedented heatwave sent temperatures soaring in Canada and wildfires are raging across the US northwest and southwestern Canada, raising questions about how countries will protect infrastructure and deal with the changing climate.

Britain is due to host the United Nations' Climate Change Conference COP26 in November, which is seen as a critical opportunity for countries to make more ambitious commitments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and keep the global average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius this century, which was set under the Paris Agreement in 2015.

All of the top 10 warmest years for the United Kingdom in records dating back to 1884 have occurred since 2002, and, for central England, the 21st century so far has been warmer than the previous three centuries.

The most recent decade (2011-2020) has been on average 0.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1981-2010 average and 1.1C warmer than 1961-1990.

Britain has also been on average 6 per cent wetter over the last 30 years (1991-2020) than the preceding 30 years (1961-1990). Six of the 10 wettest years in a series from 1862 have occurred since 1998, the report said.

The annual report, published in The Royal Meteorological Society's International Journal of Climatology, was compiled by scientists at the UK's Met Office, the National Oceanography Centre, the University of Cambridge, the Woodland Trust and Poland's Poznan University of Life Sciences.

More For You

Rajnath Singh

The council that approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

India starts process to procure arms worth $12.31 billion

INDIA’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment worth $12.31 billion (£9.05 billion), the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The council is headed by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Forecasts indicate that the weekend will be unsettled

Getty Images

Cooler conditions bring relief as UK heatwave ends

Key points

  • UK's second heatwave of 2025 ends with cooler temperatures setting in.
  • Tuesday recorded the year’s highest temperature at 34.7°C in London.
  • No return to heatwave conditions forecast for early July.
  • Showers expected in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with drier weather ahead.

UK heatwave fades as cooler weather returns

Following a stretch of record-breaking heat, the UK has now entered a cooler phase, with no heatwave conditions forecast for the first half of July. This change comes after Tuesday became the hottest day of the year so far, with 34.7°C recorded in London’s St James’s Park.

However, the high temperatures that marked the start of July have now given way to more comfortable conditions. In many parts of the country, temperatures have dropped by more than 10°C, bringing relief from the extreme heat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

Matt Hancock arrives ahead of his latest appearance before the Covid-19 Inquiry on July 02, 2025 in London, England.(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

BEREAVED families have condemned former health secretary Matt Hancock as "insulting" and "full of excuses" after he defended the controversial policy of moving untested hospital patients into care homes during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry on Wednesday (2), Hancock described the decision to discharge patients into care homes as "the least-worst decision" available at the time, despite the devastating death toll that followed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer has said the NHS must 'reform or die' and promised changes that would control the rising costs of caring for an ageing population without increasing taxes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Starmer outlines 10-year NHS reform strategy

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer will on Thursday launch a 10-year strategy aimed at fixing the National Health Service (NHS), which he said was in crisis. The plan seeks to ease the pressure on overstretched hospitals and shift care closer to people’s homes.

The NHS, which is publicly funded and state-run, has faced difficulties recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to experience annual winter pressures, repeated waves of industrial action, and a long backlog for elective treatments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Reeves-Getty

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy on June 23, 2025 in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Reeves ‘going nowhere’, says Starmer after tears in parliament

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Wednesday said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for “a very long time to come”, after she appeared visibly upset in parliament as questions were raised about her future.

Reeves was seen with tears rolling down her face during Prime Minister’s Questions, after Starmer did not confirm whether she would remain chancellor until the next general election, expected in 2029.

Keep ReadingShow less