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.<\/p>\n
The hottest days people endure have dramatically increased in frequency and severity, and periods of intense rain have also ramped up, data from hundreds of weather stations shows. Heatwaves and floods leading to deaths and costly damage are of \u201cprofound concern\u201d for health, infrastructure and the functioning of society, the scientists said.<\/p>\n
The weather records clearly show the UK\u2019s climate is different now compared with just a few decades ago, the scientists said, as a result of the carbon pollution emitted by burning fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
The analysis found that the number of days with temperatures 5C above the average for 1961-1990 had doubled in the last 10 years. For days 8C above average, the number has trebled and for 10C above average it has quadrupled. The UK has also become 8% sunnier in the last decade.<\/p>\n
chart<\/a><\/p>\n The assessment also reported that rain had become more intense. The number of months where counties receive at least double the average rainfall has risen by 50% in the last 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 span back to 1767, and resulted in flooding in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, the West Midlands and elsewhere.<\/p>\n The sea level around the UK is rising faster than the global average, the report said, which worsens the impact of coastal flooding.<\/p>\n Six hundred people are believed to have died due to the heatwave<\/a> that hit England and Wales at the end of June. The soaring temperatures were made 100 times more likely by global heating<\/a>, the scientists calculated. Two more heatwaves have followed in quick succession.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s preparations to protect people from the escalating impacts of the climate crisis were condemned as \u201cinadequate, piecemeal and disjointed<\/a>\u201d by official advisers in April.<\/p>\n Mike Kendon at the Met Office, who led the analysis, said: \u201cBreaking records frequently and seeing these extremes, this is now the norm. We might not notice the change from one year to the next, but if we look back 10 years, or 30 years, we can see some really big changes. We\u2019re moving outside the envelope of what we\u2019ve known in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe extremes have the greatest impact for our society, if we think about our infrastructure, our public health, and how we function,\u201d he said. \u201cSo this is really of profound concern.\u201d<\/p>\n UK high temperature days graphic<\/a><\/p>\n The assessment, called the State of the UK Climate 2024 and published in the International Journal of Climatology<\/a>, found the last three years were in the UK\u2019s top five hottest years on record. The warmest spring on record was seen in 2024 although this has already been surpassed in 2025.<\/p>\n