State of the UK Climate 2022 – published 27 July 2023. Annual publication which provides an up-to-date assessment of the UK climate. The 2022 report is published as a special issue [open access] of the International Journal of Climatology Volume 43, Issue S1 – Pages 1-82. Highlights of the 2022 report – The report reviews the climate and significant meteorological events of the year. 2022 was a year of extremes and the report shows how in 2022, the UK experienced the knock-on effect of increasing global temperatures.

• The UK climate continues to change, but UK temperature extremes are changing much faster than average based on 1960 to 2022 UK daily average maximum and minimum temperature
• 2022 was a record warm year for the UK, made more likely by climate change
• In 2022, the UK received 6% below average rainfall (1991 – 2020), but there has been a slight increase in heavy rainfall in recent decades.
• Sea level around the UK has risen by 18.5cm since 1900’s, but the rate is increasing with over 60% of this (11.4cm) occurring over the past 30 years
• Overall, 2022 leaf-on season was 7 to 16 days longer than average due to extended spring and autumn seasons
• Projections show that without rapid, globally concerted efforts to reduce emissions, the recent changes observed in UK climate are set to increase

See also The Guardian – ‘Era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN chief as July set to be hottest month on record. Head of World Meteorological Organization also warns ‘climate action is not a luxury but a must’ as temperatures soar.