The United Kingdom has suffered its hottest June since temperature records began in 1884. These are data shared by the British Meteorological Service (Met Office), which has also indicated that this unusual heat will be more frequent in the coming decades due to to human-induced climate change.
The average temperature for June in the UK reached 15.8 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record of 14.9 degrees Celsius in 1940 and 1976, according to provisional figures from the Met Office. Forecasters say that thanks to climate change, the chance of breaking the previous record has at least doubled since the 1940s.
“Along with natural variability, the background warming of Earth’s atmosphere due to human-induced climate change has increased the chance of record temperatures,” said Paul Davies at the Met Office. “By the 2050s, the chance of breaking the previous record of 14.9°C could be around 50%, or every two years,” he added.
Large areas of the country, from the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland to Cornwall in south-west England, set regional high temperature records last month with many experiencing average temperatures that were 2.5°C above average.
The highest temperature recorded last month was 32.2 degrees Celsius, much higher than typical highs, which hover around 20 degrees for this time of year, the weather agency said.
This situation has caused, according to experts, the death of fish due to the reduction of oxygen in the water due to a decrease in the level of the rivers and pollution. In the same way, plants and insects would also have been affected.
Met Office scientists have said that 2022 was the UK’s hottest year on record, with an average annual temperature of 10.03°C, almost a degree higher than the 1991-2020 average; exactly 0.89°C. The 10 highest annual temperature records have been in the last 20 years, clearly demonstrating how global warming has affected the British climate, they added.
