According to the International Journal of Climatologys annual "State of the UK Climate" report, 2020 was the fifth wettest and third hottest year on record, courting back to the 19th century. Prominent meteorologists have sounded alarms that climate change has made Britain’s weather wetter and warmer, with the country's ten hottest years recorded since 2002.
Reports indicate that average winter temperature in the UK was 41.5 degrees Fahrenheit (5.3 degrees Celsius) last year, a 1.6 degrees Celsius hike than the average from 1981 to 2010. Meanwhile, in August 2020, the summer temperature was 0.4 degrees above average at 14.8 degrees Celsius (58.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for six days in a row.
According to the report, summer temperatures in Britain are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming years, even if the world fulfills its target of reducing global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Notably, the maximum temperature recorded in the UK was 38.7 degrees Celsius (101.7 degrees Fahrenheit), recorded in Cambridge in July 2019.
Commenting on the global climate scenario, Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, stated that “the world is already experiencing excessive heat due to warming of 1.1 to 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels”.
“UK is likely to see temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, even though the country have never seen temperatures like that before”, said Bentley. "As they reach 1.5 degrees Celsius in global warming, that will no longer be something people will see once or twice; but it will become something much more of a regular occurrence”.
The report's lead author and climate scientist, Mike Kendon claims that the numbers estimated will become a new normal in the UK. In the last 7 out of 10 years, the country has seen temperatures hit 34 Celsius, which is a more frequent occurrence if compared to the past seven out of 50 years.
Source Credit - https://indianexpress.com/article/world/britain-could-hit-40-celsius-soon-due-to-climate-change-report-7428965/