2014 predicted UK’s warmest year since 1772

New research by the Met Office suggests 2014 has been one of the world’s hottest years since record-keeping began in 1772.

Two studies conducted by the Met Office using data gathered since 1772, outline that the UK, along with the rest of the world, have experienced the warmest year thus far. With the exception of August, Britain’s weather data shows each month has been consistently warm and despite 2014 rainfall being close to the expected average, this autumn is likely to be one of the UK’s mildest on record.

Research director at the world-renowned University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit professor Phil Jones said: “2014 has so far been warmer than the 1961 to 1990 average almost everywhere, the main exception being central and eastern parts of North America. For Europe, many countries in northern and eastern parts will likely have had near-record warm years.”

A newly established Met Office research unit will exploit cutting-edge analytical techniques to investigate global warming. Head of the unit Dr Peter Stott stated: “Our research shows current global average temperatures are highly unlikely in a world without human influence on the climate. Human influence has also made breaking the current UK temperature record about ten times more likely.”

These findings come only days after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported all of the world’s top ten warmest years have occurred since 2000. The NOAA, which began collecting weather data 130 years ago, suggests that these rising temperatures were driven by warming oceans. Additional NOAA studies predict global temperatures will rise with the increase in carbon dioxide levels in coming 30 years.

Although 2014 has been unusually warm, the summer of 1976 remains the UK’s hottest on record: all three main summer months recording temperatures well above average. The summer of 1995 was the UK’s driest on record whilst the Met Office recorded England’s highest ever temperature, 38.5 degrees in Faversham, Kent, in 2003.

Chris Gilroy