Scientists predict that extreme weather events will be more frequent in the UK because of the climate crisis. This was after data showed last year was the warmest on record.According to climate scientists and the Met Office, last year was the first year to rank in the top 10 for heat and rain.According to the State of the UK Climate 2020 published in the International Journal of Climatology, 2020 was the warmest year ever, the fifth wettest, and the eighth sunniest.Mike Kendon (senior climate scientist at Met Office National Climate Information Centre and the lead author of the study) stated that the UK's climate is already changing. Globally, the warming we observe is consistent with global trends. Our climate appears to be changing rapidly. This is consistent with our vast understanding of climate change.Some of the UK's weather records date back hundreds of years. There is a temperature series for central England that dates back to 1659, as well as other temperature records starting in 1884. Rainfall records also go back to 1862 and some cases even further. These data were combined with those for sea temperatures, sea levels and other weather records, and the authors of the reports compared them to last year's findings.These data show that the current 30-year period (1991-2025) is 0.9C warmer and 6% more wetter than the previous 30 years (1961-1990).The global average land temperature is 1.2C higher than it was in pre-industrial days. At the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow this November, governments will try to reach an agreement on preventing the world's temperature from rising by more than 1.5C beyond pre-industrial levels.However, average weather is just one aspect of the problem. Scientists are especially concerned about the UK's increasing extreme weather. Storms Ciara, Dennis and Veronica struck just a week apart last year and brought rain that was more than four times the historic monthly average.Kendon stated: We are seeing a pattern of increasing high temperatures and extreme rainfall. Our climate baseline is changing, and we are changing what we consider normal.William Collins, a professor of meteorology at University of Reading, was not part of the report. He said: As global temperatures rise, the UK's weather will likely become more extreme. The governments have committed to limiting temperature rises to 1.5C. Failure to do this will have global climate impacts. We will not be spared in the UK.The planet is heating up due to greenhouse gases. This means that warmer air can retain more moisture. This makes the British weather wetter than ever before.Professor of Climate Science at Reading University Richard Allan explained that very wet periods and associated flooding become more severe as higher levels of greenhouse gases warm the air. This increases the moisture that fuels storms. The ground is also more dry due to a more thirsty atmosphere, which intensifies the already hot spells and makes our weather extremer.These extremes can cause serious problems as the UK's infrastructure is not built to withstand the type of rain, heatwave temperatures, and storms that are more likely to occur. After a heatwave earlier in the month, flooding has hit the UK once again, prompting questions about the UK's ability to withstand extreme weather.Liz Bentley, chief executive at the Royal Meteorological Society that published the paper, warned about the danger of focusing too much on warming weather. She said it was easy to focus too much on the weather and the extremes in heat and rain would cause many problems.The roads had been melting and the rail network was buckled by the heat. We see many cancellations and postponements as a result. She said that the electrical cabling also begins to buckle, causing power outages. It will have far more negative effects than just a warm sunny day.These impacts can also be seen in agriculture and the natural world. According to the report, first leaves appear earlier and fall much earlier than normal last year. These effects can be disastrous for other species. For instance, caterpillars or other invertebrates might reach their peak before baby birds are born. This could leave them without enough food.Darren Moorcroft is the chief executive officer of Woodland Trust. He stated: A species that becomes out of sync could lead to a breakdown in food chains and subsequently, species struggling to survive and thrive.The sea level rise has doubled in the past century. It went from 1.5mm per year to more that 3mm per year. This equates to 2cm per decade over the last 60 year. Director of the UK's National Oceanography Centre Ed Hill said that flooding will soon be a consequence of higher extreme sea levels due to high tides or storms.
