Category Archives: Met Office News

Arctic sea ice decline continues, with 2021 the 12th lowest summer minimum extent on record

Posted on 24 September, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

On 16 September 2021, Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum extent, signifying the end of the summer melting period. According to the National Snow and Ice Data centre (NSIDC), Arctic sea ice extent stood at 4.72 million square kilometres on … Continue reading →

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Met Office science: narrowing the range of climate uncertainty

Posted on 16 September, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

The United Nations has today (Thursday 16 September, 2021) published a synthesis report on the perils of climate change and the need for urgent climate action. The report features hard-hitting forewords from both Antonio Guterres – Secretary-General of the United … Continue reading →

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How will Hurricane Larry influence the UK’s weather?  

Posted on 13 September, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

The hurricane season in the Tropical North Atlantic frequently plays a role in dictating the state of play with the UK’s dominant weather patterns, but with various stories circulating in the media about ex-Hurricane Larry’s influence over the forecast, we thought … Continue reading →

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Will Hurricane Ida affect the UK’s weather?

Posted on 3 September, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

Hurricane Ida has seen winds of up to 150mph and intense rainfall bringing widespread flash flooding to a swathe of America, in what has been the fifth strongest storm to hit the US mainland. Ida formed over the Caribbean Sea … Continue reading →

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Notably warm summer so far for UK – but not for everyone

Posted on 26 August, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

The summer so far has been around 1°C warmer than average for the UK, which would potentially place it within the top ten warmest summers on record, but it’s still too early to make a confident statement about final rankings. This … Continue reading →

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Invoking the oak – nature’s veteran recorder helping scientists understand the rate and scale of climate change

Posted on 25 August, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

Ancient oak trees – individuals more than 400 years old – extend back into the deep and dark recesses of history. During that time, these senior trees will have been surrounded by huge fluctuations in climate; to say nothing of … Continue reading →

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Met Office science at the heart of climate assessments

Posted on 17 August, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

The Met Office Hadley Centre – which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year – has a long and proud history of working and supporting the IPCC. Indeed, one of the foremost scientists who propelled the IPCC, serving as co-chair and … Continue reading →

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Europe needs to prepare for temperatures of 50C in future

Posted on 12 August, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

Syracuse, in Sicily, has provisionally exceeded the previous European highest temperature with a record of 48.8°C yesterday. If the record is confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, this temperature will break the previous record of 48.0°C in Athens in 1977. … Continue reading →

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Heatwave helps mark fifth warmest July on record

Posted on 2 August, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

The mid-month heatwave has helped the UK to its joint fifth warmest July on record according to provisional Met Office figures, with Scotland and Northern Ireland recording their third warmest July, in a month where Northern Ireland also broke its all-time high temperature record, exceeding 31C multiple times.   The mean temperature for July 2021 in the UK was 16.6°C, which … Continue reading →

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COP26 – 100 days to go

Posted on 27 July, 2021 by Met Office Press Office

COP – or Conference of Parties, is an annual United Nations climate summit where world leaders meet to discuss and make decisions on key global issues. In attendance will be countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) back in 1994. This year sees the arrival of the much-awaited … Continue reading →

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