The met office decides a heatwave as when a certain area experiences the maximum temperatures of that region daily, or if they have exceeded the maximum temperature for 3 or more days in a row.
8 of the UK’s Counties have had raised limits by the weather forecaster by at least 1c!
Announcing the change, experts said climate data showed “undeniable warming” in the UK accompanying increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
New counties have received new limits, the counties are:
- Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire, and their new limit is now 28C (82F)
- Lincolnshire has been raised to 27C ( 81F)
- East Riding of Yorkshire has been raised to 26C (79F)
image credit:Ed Connor
The thing that defines a heatwave is linked to the climate data from the past, as a result of Global Warming, the UK has been experiencing temperates rising above average in the more recent years.
Previous thresholds used data from 1981 to 2010, but the new limits are based on the period between 1991 and 2020, the Met Office said.
Dr. Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre – the body which manages the UK’s climate records – said climate statistics over time have revealed an “undeniable warming trend for the UK. Temperature rise has been greatest across parts of central and eastern England, where it has increased by more than 1.0C in some locations, while further north, areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen temperatures rise by closer to 0.7C,”
banner and image credits: Sepp photography
