What is likely to happen to the UKs climate?
The UK climate is expected to become warmer, with wetter winters, drier summers, and more extreme weather events, such as heavy rain and high winds. New UK Climate Projections 09 (UKCP09) were launched in June 2009. In summary the following changes are expected:- Long-term / seasonal averages • Warmer, drier summers (spring, autumn too) • Milder, wetter winters • Rising sea levels Extremes • More very hot days • More intense downpours of rain (predominantly in winter, but modelling suggests that rainfall events will tend to intensify throughout the year) • Fewer snowfalls and frost nights • Possible increase in storms (high winds) although there is greater modelling uncertainty associated with storm estimates. Climate changes are likely to be most pronounced in the south and east of the country due to proximity to the continental land mass, and rather less pronounced in the north and west due to the thermal buffering of the Atlantic Ocean.
