Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, with Arctic temperature anomalies expected to continue to be higher than the global mean, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), produced by the UK’s Met Office. The Global Annual-to-Decadal Update also takes a look at the observed climate over the past five years and gives regional predictions for temperatures and precipitation over the next five years.
Rapid warming in Europe is reducing snow and ice cover, while dangerously high air temperatures, drought, heatwaves and record ocean temperatures are affecting regions from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. Europe, along with many other regions of the globe, is exposed to increasing impacts – from record heatwaves on land and at sea, to devastating wildfires, and continuing biodiversity loss – with consequences for societies and ecosystems across Europe.
A study published in Nature shows that around one-quarter of the heatwaves recorded in the period 2000–23 can be directly linked to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from individual energy companies. It says that more than one-quarter of the 213 events recorded would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced global warming.
Climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and more extreme. This looks like heatwaves, heavy rainfall and conditions that enable wildfires. The UK is not appropriately prepared for this.