Record breaking temperatures in 2019, warns Met Office

A new report by the Met Office has found that 2019 could be a record breaking year for global temperatures due to climate change.

The Met Office forecasts the global average temperature for 2019 to be between 0.98 degrees Celsius and 1.22 degrees Celsius, with a central estimate of 1.10 degrees Celsius.

Since 1850, 2016 is the warmest year on record with a central estimate of 1.15 degrees Celsius above the baseline.

The forecast is based on modest warming from El Nino combined with much larger effects due to rising levels of greenhouse gases.

Professor Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Prediction at the Met Office, said: “Our forecasts suggest that by the end of 2019, 19 of the 20 warmest years on record will have occurred since the year 2000.”

The IPCC report stated the dramatic consequences if urgent action isn’t taken. This report highlighted the importance of keeping global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Gareth Redmond-King, Head Climate Change at WWF, said: “This is more evidence that we don’t have the luxury of time. Climate change is a huge and growing threat to nature and people. It’s making extreme weather harsher and more likely, meaning that extreme heatwaves scorching the UK and Europe could become the new normal unless we treat this growing climate crisis as a genuine emergency.  That means fast and deep emissions cuts - to net-zero by 2045 at the latest, to save our world."