Extreme weather is the UK's new normal, says Met Office

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🗞️ Driving the news: The UK’s climate has changed “notably” in recent decades, with extreme weather now the norm, the Met Office warns in its State of the UK Climate report
• The findings show record-breaking heat, more intense storms, and rising sea levels are reshaping the country’s weather and natural environment
• In 2024 alone, the UK recorded its warmest May and spring, its fifth warmest winter, and experienced widespread floods following the wettest October–March in over 250 years

🔭 The context: The UK is warming at about 0.25°C per decade, with the past decade 1.24°C hotter than 1961–1990 averages
• Global warming, driven by human emissions, is shifting temperature distributions so that previously rare extremes are becoming more frequent
• The UK also sees wetter winters — 16% more rainfall in 2015–2024 than in the late 20th century — while the number of frost days continues to decline
• Sea levels around the UK are now rising faster than the global average, increasing flood risks

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The UK’s experience exemplifies the global climate crisis: small average temperature increases lead to significant shifts in extremes, threatening ecosystems, infrastructure, and human health
• Wildlife and forestry are already under strain from earlier springs, more drought stress, and disrupted food cycles
• Rising seas and storm surges pose growing risks to low-lying regions
• Adapting natural and urban environments to withstand these changes is increasingly urgent

⏭️ What's next: Experts urge that the UK accelerates adaptation planning — strengthening flood defences, modernising infrastructure, and planting more climate-resilient tree species
• The National Drought Group meets Tuesday to consider extending drought declarations beyond Yorkshire and northwest England
• Research at centres like Alice Holt is exploring how non-native, drought-tolerant trees could sustain UK forests under hotter, wetter conditions
• Policymakers face pressure to align emission cuts and resilience strategies with the pace of observed change

💬 One quote: “Every year that goes by is another upward step on the warming trajectory our climate is on,” said Mike Kendon, lead author of the Met Office report.

📈 One stat: The past decade (2015–2024) was 1.24°C warmer than the 1961–1990 baseline, and the last three years all rank among the UK’s five warmest on record

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