2022 on track to be hottest on record for the UK
With only a few days left, 2022 is set to be the warmest year on record in the United Kingdom, according to the country’s Met Office.
The office announced on Wednesday that 2022 will be the warmest year on record in the Central England temperature series, which began in 1659 and is the world’s longest instrumental record of temperature.
“While many will remember the summer’s extreme heat, what has been noteworthy this year has been the relatively consistent heat through the year, with every month except December being warmer than average,” said Dr. Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre.
“The warm year is in line with the genuine impacts we expect as a result of human-induced climate change,” McCarthy continued. “Although it doesn’t mean every year will be the warmest on record, climate change continues to increase the chances of increasingly warm years over the coming decades.”
The office will provide a final provisional figure for the 2022’s annual average temperature at the conclusion of the year ahead of a verification process.
The U.K. began the year by experiencing the warmest-ever New Year’s Day high temperature of 16.3 degrees Celsius in London’s St. James’s Park, equivalent to about 61 degrees Fahrenheit.
The year continued to include many warmer than average days, with temperatures remaining above historical averages for every month this year except December, which the Met Office said has so far been cooler than average.
U.K. weather gained significant attention in July, when a massive heat wave created record temperatures and caused officials to issue their first-ever “red extreme” heat warning for much of England.
Temperatures became warm enough in parts of the country to melt runways, paralyze train systems and cause fires.
Although the heat wave contributed to the new record, the Met Office said the annual figure was more significantly impacted by higher-than-average temperatures seen throughout the year.