Met Office Data Reveals UK’s Climate Change: 2024 Among Hottest Years Ever
The United Kingdom had its fourth warmest year on record in 2024, according to the Met Office. The average temperature in 2024 was recorded 9.78°C in the country which is 0.64°C above the 1991-2020 average.
This year follows 2022, 2023, and 2014 as the four warmest years recorded. According to the Met Office data, all 10 of the UK’s warmest years have occurred since 2000, with five between 2015 and 2024 alone.
According to the Met Office analysis, “Eight of the 12 months of the year saw temperatures above the 1991-2020 average, including the warmest May on record, second warmest February and fifth warmest December.”
The UK has not had a top 10 coldest year since 1963. Met Office Senior Scientist Mike Kendon said, ““The fact that all ten of the most recent years have been above the 1991-2020 average demonstrates that this recent period, entirely within my own adult lifetime, is a stark reminder of just how fast our climate is changing. We have not had a top ten coldest year in the UK since 1963.”
“…the global climate is warming and there is clear evidence of this in the UK’s own temperature series. We are heading outside the envelope of historical observations.”
Recently, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that 2024 was India’s hottest year on record (since 1901). Meanwhile, Australia experienced its second-hottest year in 2024, with the national average temperature 1.46°C higher than the 1961-1990 baseline, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
In 2024, the UK had 1,242mm of rain, making it the 17th wettest year since 1836. The counties Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, all recorded their second-wettest year since records are being kept in the UK.
Since 1998, six of the UK’s 10 wettest years have occurred, reports Met Office. By 2070, winters are predicted by the Met Office to between 1 and 4.5°C warmer and 30% wetter, while summers could be up to 6°C hotter and 60% drier.
Globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time breaching the Paris Agreement goal, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Berkeley Earth has recently warned world’s climate leaders that, “Unless sharp reductions in man-made greenhouse gas emissions occur soon, the long-term average is likely to pass 1.5 °C during the late 2020s or early 2030s.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described it as “climate breakdown in real time” in his recent New Year message. “I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years, including 2024,” he said.
Climate change caused at least 3,700 deaths globally in 2024, displaced millions, and intensified 26 out of 29 studied extreme weather events and added 41 extra heat-days, as per the recent study published by World Weather Attribution and the Climate Central.
NASA reports atmospheric CO₂ levels at 419 ppm, compared to 280 ppm before the Industrial Revolution. A clear sign of the rise in greenhouse gas volume in the atmosphere, the key driver of the global warming trend.
“Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased substantially since the beginning of the industrial era, rising from an annual average of 280 ppm in the late 1700s to 419 ppm in 2023 – a 49 percent increase. Almost all of this increase is due to human activities.”
Fossil fuel-dependent countries continue to pollute the natural balance with emissions. The recently concluded COP29 failed to bring the world’s wealthiest nations on the same page regarding curbing their emissions and developing a better climate finance system for the vulnerable regions of the world in the face of the climate crisis.
Also Read | Climate Action Tracker’s Warning: World on Track for Catastrophic 3°C Rise by 2100!
Extreme heat defined 2024. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires caused widespread damage. The Met Office predicts 2025 will be similarly warm as the likes of 2023 and 2024.
