Climate crisis 'has made UK's extreme weather the new norm'

Record-breaking extreme weather is the new norm in the UK, scientists have said, showing that the country is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis.

- Damian Carrington

The hottest days people endure have dramatically risen in frequency and severity, and periods of intense rain have also increased, data from hundreds of weather stations shows.

Heatwaves and floods leading to deaths and costly damage are of "profound concern" for health, infrastructure and the functioning of society, the scientists said.

The weather records show the UK's climate is different now compared with a few decades ago, the scientists said, as a result of the carbon pollution emitted by burning fossil fuels.

The analysis found that the number of days with temperatures 5C above the average for 1961-1990 had doubled in the past 10 years. For days 8C above average, the number has trebled and for 10C above average it has quadrupled. It has also become 8% sunnier in the past decade.

The assessment also reported that the number of months where counties receive at least double the average rainfall has risen by 50% in the past 20 years.

Much of the additional rain is falling in the months from October to March. That period in 2023-24 was the wettest ever, in records that go back to 1767, and resulted in flooding in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, the West Midlands and elsewhere.