Climate change made UK's soggy winter even wetter, study finds

Sky News
·3-min read

The wet weather in the UK and Ireland that seemed almost unrelenting last winter was made worse by climate change, scientists have said.

October 2023 to March 2024 was the second wettest such period on record for the UK and the third wettest for Ireland, bringing more than a dozen severe storms.

The weather caused 13 deaths and widespread damage across the two countries, as well as flooding and power outages, disrupted travel, damaged crops and livestock, and left farmers with waterlogged fields which they could not plant in the spring.

The World Weather Attribution group of scientists assessed how rising temperatures affected the storms and heavy rain.

They found the total rainfall in that period was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter due to climate change.

One author issued a blunt warning that "climate change is already making life shittier" by adding to the cost of living crisis.

The harvest this year could be a fifth lower than last year due to the wet winter, and bread and beer prices are likely to rise, according to the energy thinktank ECIU.

Read more:
Upgrade water system to stop humans ingesting traces of poo
'Shocking' incidents of sewage in gardens

The research has not been peer-reviewed, but uses peer-reviewed methods, and was produced by a respected group of scientists from institutions including the Met Office, Met Eireann and Imperial College London.

They used weather data and climate models to compare the storm severity and associated rain, as well as rainfall over the storm season, between today's world and how the climate was before humans started burning fossil fuels at scale.

Where the intense storm rainfall would have occurred about once every 50 years in the pre-industrial period, now it is expected around every five years.

Global average temperatures have risen by 1.2C since pre-industrial times.

If temperatures rose further to 2C of warming, storm rainfall and seasonal rain would increase, the researchers said.

A warmer atmosphere is thirstier and holds more water, making rainfall heavier.

But the "storminess" of the extreme weather showed a decreasing trend in this study, highlighting that more research was needed on how climate change might influence the severity and frequency of wind storms in northern Europe, the researchers said.

Climate solutions will 'make life cheaper'

Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, said: "To put it bluntly, climate change is already making life shittier.

"Wetter winters are flooding farms, cancelling football matches, and overflowing sewage systems.

"Groceries are becoming more expensive and Brits holidaying in Europe are having to shelter from record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires.

"Thankfully, we know the solutions - replace oil, gas and coal with cleaner, cheaper renewable sources of energy, insulate homes, restore nature."

"All this will make life cheaper and better for all, not more expensive," she added.

Katie-Jo Luxton, global conservation director at the RSPB, said: "The flooded fields of this past winter show how farming is at the forefront of the impacts of climate change. Farmers are understandably extremely worried about a future with wetter, stormier, more unpredictable weather.

"So this study serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to support farmers to transition to low carbon and nature-friendly farming."

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • 'Mysterious' carnivorous sharks found lurking in the depths of British waters

    As shark season approaches in the UK, are you aware of the giant 400-year-old sharks that can be found in our waters?

  • Map shows which parts of UK will be 'hotter than Ibiza' next week

    Temperatures in England will match those on the Balaeric Islands next week, according to reports, with highs of 26C expected in some places.

  • What is causing the dangerous heatwave in the US and will it affect the UK?

    The National Weather Service says the heatwave is ‘potentially the longest experienced in decades for some locations’

  • UK weather: Temperatures set to rise - with some areas forecast to be as hot as Ibiza

    Warmer weather is on the way with the UK finally set to enjoy a spell of sunshine - as temperatures in some parts are expected to match those in Ibiza. While temperatures will likely hover at around 20C (68F) over the weekend, with highs of 24C (75F) in the south, Monday and Tuesday could be as hot as Ibiza in the southeast. It is forecast to be 25C (77F) on the sunny Spanish island at the start of next week, matching London and surrounding areas, with the Midlands and northwest a degree or two cooler.

  • Italy braces for 39°C temperatures as heatwave in southern Europe causes mounting safety concerns

    Intense heat continues to scorch southern Europe this week - with health officials warning people to stay sheltered and hydrated.

  • London weather: Capital to be hotter than the Algarve with temperatures to reach 27C in near-heatwave

    London set to be hotter than a number of popular holiday destinations on the continent

  • Astronauts Still Stuck on Space Station as Boeing Tries to Figure Out What's Wrong With Starliner

    It seemingly took a small miracle for Boeing's Starliner to limp to the International Space Station in one piece. The plagued spacecraft managed to finally make it to the orbital outpost with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in tow on January 6. But the journey didn't go by without a hitch — […]

  • Two astronauts wait to come home as Boeing races to understand spacecraft issues. Here’s what’s at stake

    Two test pilots helming the inaugural crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft are in a tentative position — and so is Boeing’s reputation in spaceflight.

  • Bear Floating in Pond Is the Picture of Summer Bliss

    Sonya the bear was “truly delightful to behold” as she floated with her paws up in a pond at the Orphaned Wildlife Center, according to those running the New York sanctuary.“Notice how she effortlessly floats with her toes adorably protruding,” the center wrote on YouTube.Founded by Jim Kowalczik, Susan Kowalczik, and Kerry Clair in 2015, the OrphanedWildlife Center, in Otisville nurtures its animal residents in the hope they can be returned to the wild.The center often shares videos and updates about the animals in its care to its YouTube channel and Facebook page. Credit: Orphaned Wildlife Center via Storyful

  • Future of new oil and gas projects in UK thrown into doubt after landmark Supreme Court decision

    The future of new oil and gas projects in the UK has been thrown into doubt following a landmark decision by the Supreme Court. The court concluded the environmental impact of emissions from burning fossil fuels must be considered in planning applications for new extraction projects - not just the impacts of the emissions produced in extracting them. The case hinged around an oil drilling project at Horse Hill in Surrey, granted planning permission by Surrey County Council in 2019.

  • How to stay safe in dangerously hot weather, according to the experts

    The death of broadcaster and writer Michael Moseley in Greece this year has highlighted the very real dangers of hot weather, from dehydration to heat exhaustion to heat stroke.

  • This is the beginning of the end of the Mediterranean summer holiday

    Tourists will never stop going to the Med. I have no doubt that, in 7.5 billion years or so, given the opportunity, there will be a British couple in Corfu applying cream to each other’s backs on the day planet Earth is absorbed by the sun. But all signs do suggest that by the end of this century, the Med will plummet in popularity as a summer holiday destination.

  • Haj pilgrimage threatened as hundreds perish in heat

    STORY: Nearly 2 million Muslims will complete the haj pilgrimage this week, but extreme heat has been fatal for hundreds who started the journey last Friday, to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.According to reports, at least 562 people have died during the haj. Egypt has reported 307 deaths and 118 missing, with temperatures hitting over 124 degrees Fahrenheit.The haj's timing is based on the lunar year, moving back 10 days each year.While the haj is now moving towards winter, it will occur in the peak of summer in Saudi Arabia by the 2040s.Climate scientist Fahad Saeed says these deaths hint at future risks for millions of haj pilgrims."We need to prepare, we need to adapt, we need to introduce the adaptation option as much as we can. While realizing that it will compromise on the centuries old ritual, but still we need to save people. But at the same time, we must do climate action to stop the global warming at 1.5 degrees centigrade. At anything beyond that, we are putting those pilgrims at the risk of death."Heat-related deaths during the haj have been recorded since the 1400s.Pilgrims' vulnerability stems from exertion, exposure, and older age, as well as a simple lack of acclimatization to the heat.According to Saudi officials last year, more than 2,000 people suffered from heat stress during that haj.A 2021 study in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that if global temperatures rise by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, heat stroke risk for haj pilgrims will increase by five times.Still, pilgrims remain determined - for some, it's a one-in-a-lifetime affair."Haj is the fifth pillar of Islam and it is a mandatory duty for every capable person. So you have to exert efforts and get tired. Haj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the conditions of heat and crowding. You use an umbrella, drink water and pour it onto your body to prevent dehydration. And the water sprinklers in the walkways help."In 2016, Saudi Arabia implemented a heat strategy with shaded areas, water points at every 500 meters, and improved healthcare.Saudi health authorities advised pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid outdoor activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during this year's haj.

  • Potential heatwaves forecast next week after grey start to the weekend

    The hotter weather comes as the number of people visiting the NHS website for hay fever advice has more than doubled this week.

  • North Sea oil drilling threatened by landmark Supreme Court ruling

    The future of Britain’s oil and gas industry has been thrown into doubt after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court.

  • Culling wolves alters the survivors and that could be 'bad news' for caribou, study finds

    When wolves are killed by bullets fired from helicopters during Alberta government culls, surviving members of the pack quickly learn to evade the threat, a new study has found. For nearly two decades, Alberta has killed off hundreds of grey wolves each year in an attempt to bolster dwindling caribou populations, a practice critics have described as a misguided measure to help herds on the brink recover from habitat loss.New research sheds light on how the practice alters the surviving wolves an

  • These are the 7 gardening jobs you need to be doing before June ends

    From planting summer flower beds to watering hanging baskets, there are plenty of jobs to do before the sunshine (hopefully) arrives.

  • Heat wave shifts to New York and the I-95 corridor as search for more victims in the deadly New Mexico wildfires continues

    A dangerous heat wave scorching parts of the Midwest and Northeast will ratchet up in New York and the I-95 corridor, while deadly wildfires that claimed at least two lives and destroyed over a thousand structures are still burning in New Mexico. Here’s the latest:

  • Newly discovered dinosaur’s horns look ‘like something a heavy metal rocker would wear’

    A previously unknown species of dinosaur finally has a name five years after the horned specimen’s discovery in Montana: Lokiceratops rangiformis.

  • Hawaii promises to curb pollution from transport after young activists win climate lawsuit

    Youth activists are forcing Hawaii to clean up its transport sector.