The year 2022 is the hottest on record in the United Kingdom, which has experienced several record heat waves this summer, the British meteorological service, the Met Office, said on Wednesday December 28.
“The year 2022 will be the hottest year on record in the UK. While many remember the extreme heat of summer, what has been remarkable this year is the relatively constant heat throughout the year”said Mark McCarthy of the Met Office in a statement.
“We are like trapped”: houses cracked due to droughts, a ticking time bomb
The average temperature for the year will be known in January but it will be higher than the previous record set in 2014 (9.88 degrees Celsius), according to the provisional data available. Each of the four seasons this year is one of the ten hottest ever recorded since the creation of national records in 1884, specifies the Met Office which is based on its provisional data which will be formalized once the year has completely passed.
All months above seasonal norms
The ten hottest years have also all been recorded since 2003, it is specified in the press release. “The warm year is consistent with the actual impacts we expect from human-induced climate change”added Mark McCarthy.
The year 2022 started with a 1er January with record temperatures, with more than 16 degrees recorded in London. Each month of the year, with the exception of December, then experienced average temperatures above normal for the season, it added.
Drought, heat wave… how do we know that climate change is responsible?
In July, temperatures exceeded 40 degrees for the first time in the UK, the driest month on record in many parts of southern and eastern England, forcing authorities to introduce travel restrictions. water in places.
Beyond the record temperatures, the Met Office points out that the year was particularly dry, with rainfall well below average. The multiplication of heat waves is a direct consequence of global warming according to scientists, with greenhouse gas emissions increasing in intensity, duration and frequency. In France, the year that is ending will also remain as the hottest year ever recorded, Météo-France indicated at the end of November.
