British experts warned, Thursday, of the occurrence of unprecedented heat waves, up to 40 degrees Celsius, in Britain in the summer, even if global warming continues at 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
The highest temperature ever measured in Britain was 38.7°C. This was recorded in Cambridge on July 25, 2019.
The planet is already experiencing extremely high temperatures due to global warming of 1.1 to 1.2 degrees, warned Liz Bentley, Director-General of the British Royal Meteorological Society, when publishing the UK Climate Report 2020.
Add to that 0.3 degrees, the heat waves will be more intense, perhaps 40 degrees in Britain, heat we’ve never seen before, and with global warming by a degree and a half, they will not only happen once or twice, but regularly – he said.
Speaking to the BBC, climate report author Mike Kendon described the 40-degree heat waves as a real danger in the UK, stressing that global warming is already affecting the island nation, as it is in the rest of the world.
According to a British climate report published on Thursday, 2020 was the third hottest year, the fifth wettest and the eighth sunniest month, and the first year among the top ten in all three indicators. The average winter temperature was 5.3 degrees, 1.6 degrees higher than the 1981-2010 average.
In southern England, 34°C for six consecutive days in early August 2020 was one of the most significant UK heat waves in the past 60 years.
Cover image illustration.
