The Met Office raises the temperature limit in eight English counties as the climate warms. A heat wave is classified in relation to the current climate and average temperatures rise as the world warms. The three-day temperature limit for a heat wave rises from 27 C (80.6 F) to 28 C in six counties: Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire. In Lincolnshire, temperatures will have to reach 27 C instead of 26 C (78.8 F) for three days to be identified as heatwave and Yorkshire East Riding now has a limit of 26 C, from 25 C (77 F) . The meteorological service said the data revealed an “unquestionable heating trend for the UK”. Heatwaves: UK at risk of ‘dangerous perception gap’ – Red Cross climate change warning The largest increase in temperature above 1 C (1.8 F) has been recorded in areas of central and eastern England. Further north, areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen mercury rise by about 0.7 degrees Celsius. “Although heat waves are extreme weather events, research shows that climate change makes these events more likely,” said Dr. Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Center. Frequent heat waves A study by the Met Office on the summer heat of 2018 in the United Kingdom showed that it was 30 times more likely to happen now than in 1750 due to the higher concentration of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that heats the atmosphere. As these concentrations increase, heat waves of similar intensity “are predicted to occur even more frequently, perhaps as regularly as any other year,” Dr McCarthy added. The meteorological body calculates the heat thresholds from historical data, formerly in the period 1981-2010. The new limits are based on data from the period 1991-2020. Heat thresholds differ from extreme heat warnings, which underline very high temperatures to protect lives and property. The UK Health Agency’s heat alert for England warns of the impact of long periods of heat on human health. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:40 Wildlife and the environment are affected by extreme weather conditions in the United Kingdom. Watch the Daily Climate Show at 8:30 pm Monday through Friday on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, on YouTube and Twitter. The show explores how global warming is changing our landscape and highlighting solutions to the crisis.
