Provisional figures show that 2023 mean temperature in the UK was 9.97C, the second-highest since records began in 1884.
—
2023 was provisionally the second-warmest year the UK has seen in nearly 140 years, just behind 2022, and the hottest year on record for both Wales and Northern Ireland, the national weather forecast service said on Tuesday.
Last year’s mean temperature in the country was 9.97C, just below 2022’s figure of 10.03C but ahead of 2014’s 9.88C, according to Met Office preliminary data.
Eight of the 12 months last year were warmer than average – with June marking the hottest June ever recorded in the country “by a wide margin,” said the Met Office. September also saw its hottest day, with temperatures peaking at 33.5C.
According to the weather service, the link between this finding and climate change is undeniable.
“While our climate will remain variable, with periods of cold and wet weather, what we have observed over recent decades is a number of high temperature records tumbling,” said Met Office Senior Scientist Mike Kendon. “We expect this pattern to continue as our climate continues to change in the coming years as a result of human-induced climate change.”
Rainfall in the UK last year was also 11% above average, in line with climate projections. Indeed, a warmer atmosphere has the capacity to hold more moisture, resulting in increasing rainfall.
The trend reflects that observed globally. Indeed, 2023 is likely the hottest year on record globally with global average temperatures at 1.46C above pre-industrial levels, beating the previous record set in 2016. This was the result of six record-breaking months and two record-breaking seasons.
On Tuesday, Greenpeace UK’s policy director Doug Parr criticised recent actions of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on climate change, saying they will only worsen the impact.
“Our Prime Minister’s newest plans consist of ramping up oil and gas drilling in the North Sea and delaying key policies that would slash emissions from cars and housing – or scrapping them altogether.”
Last September, Sunak faced backlash after announcing that he would push back a plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by five years to 2035 in the biggest policy u-turns since taking office a year ago. The Prime Minister said the decision would protect households struggling to pay bills.
You might also like: One in Six Species in the UK at Risk of Extinction, State of Nature Report Warns
