State of the UK Climate 2021
Prof Tim Sparks and Dr Judith Garforth, 28/07/2022
2021 saw the 18th warmest year on record, with Northern Ireland seeing a new record temperature of 31.3°C, according to the the State of UK Climate report compiled by the Met Office and published in the Royal Meteorological Society’s International Journal of Climatology. It might seem unremarkable compared to recent years, but that just goes to illustrate how our definition of "normal" is changing when it comes to the climate.
By using Nature's Calendar records, the authors determined that leaf on dates for Hawthorn and Elder were earlier than average, but a chilly April delayed later leafing species, including Oak and Silver Birch. As a whole, the 2021 leaf season was between 1-7 days longer than average. Prof Tim Sparks explained that a "split spring" such as this can cause problems for wildlife, who come out early in the warm March weather, only to struggle when it turns cold again.
The report also explains that February 2021 saw the most severe spell of winter weather since the 'Beast from the East' in February 2018. Sea levels around the UK have risen by around 16.5cm since the 1990s - close to the global estimate of a 3.2mm rise per year. And lastly, Storm Arwen brought strong and damaging northerly winds to the north of the UK in November, but 2021 was less stormy than average for the last few decades.
Read more about how the UK's climate is being affected in the 2021 State of UK Climate here.
