Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK weather: Met Office forecasts 2016 to be the hottest year on record

Professor Chris Folland said: '2015 is on track to be the warmest year on record, and this forecast suggests 2016 is likely to be at least as warm, if not warmer.'

Ashley Cowburn
Thursday 17 December 2015 12:27 EST
Comments
Global warming and the peaking of the El Niño weather phenomenon are leading to the hot temperatures
Global warming and the peaking of the El Niño weather phenomenon are leading to the hot temperatures (Getty)

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.

Next year is set to be the hottest on record, according to a new global forecast issued by the UK Met Office.

Global warming and the peaking of the El Niño weather phenomenon – from unusually warm waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean – are cited as the reasons for next year’s hot conditions.

Weather experts have said temperatures in 2016 could be 1.1C above pre-industrial levels.

The forecast will be a cause for concern for world leaders who met in Paris five days ago to sign a historic climate change deal – pledging to limit global warming to 1.5C.

Professor Chris Folland, a research fellow at the Met Office, said: “2015 is on track to be the warmest year on record, and this forecast suggests 2016 is likely to be at least as warm, if not warmer.”

Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at the Met Office, said: “This forecast suggests that by the end of 2016 we will have seen three record, or near-record years in a row for global temperatures.”

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