The UK recorded its warmest year on record in 2022
Human-induced climate change is partially responsible for 2022's record warmth in the U.K., according to the Met Office, and an unusually warm start to 2023 will not fade away anytime soon, AccuWeather forecasters say.
Europe has broken temperature records already this year. The warmest January day ever was recorded in at least eight European countries including Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands.
The United Kingdom recorded its warmest year on record in 2022, according to official information released by the U.K. Met Office on Thursday.
It was also the first time on record that the average annual temperature for the country was over 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) since record-keeping began in 1884.
The data shows that the U.K. recorded an annual average temperature of 10.03 degrees Celsius (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit) last year, beating the old record of 9.88 degrees Celsius set back in 2014. The average annual temperature for the country, based on the 1991 to 2020 period of record, is 9.14 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit).
A police officer gives water to a British soldier wearing a traditional bearskin hat on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace, during a heat wave in London, on July 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
The Met Office also confirmed that all four nations comprising the U.K.--England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales--recorded a record-breaking annual temperature in 2022.
A study conducted by the Met Office also indicated that some of the warmth can be attributed to climate change. The report concluded that human-induced climate change made the country's record-breaking temperature around 160 times more likely.
Since 1884, the top 10 warmest years have all occurred since 2003, and 15 of the top 20 have occurred this century.
Additionally, weather records that date back well before the 1884-to-present period of record for the Met Office also underlined the exceptional warmth felt in the country last year. The Central England Temperature series, which is the world's longest, continuous record of temperature that dates back 364 years to 1659, also recorded its highest annual temperature on record, at 11.1 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit).
The tone for the record-warm year was set right off the bat on New Year's Day 2022 when most locations across England, Wales and Scotland broke record highs for the first day of the year. By the summer, a series of countrywide heatwaves smashed record highs and led to the first-ever recorded temperature above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the country, when Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England, hit 40.3 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.
Conversely, the year wound down with the coldest December day since 2010 on Dec. 12, but it wasn't enough to overcome what would eventually go down as the warmest year on record.
The recent unusual warmth is not just confined to the U.K. but is impacting the rest of Europe, as well. Ski resorts in the Alps and French Pyrenees have had to shut down due to a lack of cold air and snow.
2023 began on a warm note across the U.K.
Going forward, warmer-than-average conditions are expected to continue, AccuWeather forecasters say.
"Temperatures across the U.K. are likely to continue trending above average in the upcoming week," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer.
A girl reads a book lying under the sun as children play in a fountain at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The warmth might end up being uneven into the new week. "Locations across England and Wales can note temperatures a few degrees higher than normal than their Scottish and Northern Ireland counterparts," Smithmyer added.
For the rest of the winter, AccuWeather long-range forecasters continue to predict mild conditions for the region, interrupted by the occasional cold burst, the most recent of which was the record-setting one in mid-December.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app.AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
