Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK weather: Met Office records hottest ever December day amid climate crisis

Andrew Griffin
Tuesday 31 December 2019 12:57 EST
Comments
UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The UK has recorded its hottest December day ever.

Temperatures of 18.7C were recorded in Scotland over the weekend, the highest ever measured in the UK during December.

The Met Office said the recording taken from Achfary was “provisional” and still needs to be quality controlled. But if validated it will be “the highest temperature officially recorded in the UK during December”, it said.

The previous record had stood since 1948, when a temperature of 18.3C was recorded in Achnashellach in Scotland, on 2 December.

This year has already seen the hottest winter day on record, when a temperature of 21.2C was taken at Kew Gardens in February. It also saw the hottest day on record in the UK, when 38.7C was registered at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens on 25 July.

The Met Office noted in its year in review that 2019 had seen record highs throughout the year, which is unusual.

“2019 will be remembered as an exceptional year for weather records, as it is unusual to get both the UK summer and winter high temperature records within the same calendar year,” said Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre.

“But this continues a pattern of high-temperature records in the UK over the last few decades, as a result of our warming climate.”

It comes as experts warn that the number and intensity of extreme weather events are set to increase because of climate change.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in