2022 Was UK's Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Facts

• On Thursday, the Met Office said that last year was the UK's hottest on record, with the average annual temperature passing the 10°C mark for the first time.¹
• According to the UK's national weather service, the provisional annual average temperature in 2022 was 10.03°C, the highest since records began in 1884. Last year's average was 0.89°C above the 1991-2020 average and 0.15°C above the previous record of 9.88°C, set in 2014.²
• Records for heat were set in all four UK nations in 2022. England saw the highest average temperature of 10.94°C, followed by Wales (10.23°C), Northern Ireland (9.85°C), and Scotland (8.50°C).³
• Furthermore, an attribution study conducted by Met Office scientists has concluded that human-induced global warming has made record annual temperatures — such as those seen last year — 160 times more likely.⁴
• The study found that the average temperature of 10°C would have been expected once in 500 years in a natural climate but is now likely to occur every three to four years due to climate change.⁵
• Summer drought and heat waves swept across the UK in 2022, with temperatures rising above 40°C for the first time on record. The temperature led the Met Office to issue its first-ever Red warning for extreme heat.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Met Office, ³BBC News, ⁴CBS, ⁵Time and ⁶CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. The UK is not alone. Fossil fuel emissions have created warmer conditions across much of the world. Autumn drought, bitter snowstorms, wildfire outbreaks, and rising sea levels are just a few of the consequences of human-caused climate change that can have disastrous, far-reaching effects. Transitioning to a greener economy requires investment, infrastructure, and political courage, but if we fail to limit global temperature increase, climate disasters will become the new normal.
• Narrative B, as provided by Discourse. Climate change must be put in perspective. It's unfair to only blame human activities and greenhouse gas emissions for rising temperatures in the UK or elsewhere. The alarmist framing of anthropogenic global warming is also self-defeating because it alienates and polarizes developing countries. It's essential to reconsider the problem and contemplate other solutions rather than put pressure on people heavily dependent on energy resources that scientists claim will have apocalyptic effects.