MET OFFICE News
Release issued by The Government News Network on 26 March 2008
Daily temperature
extremes have risen by up to 4C over the last 50 years, say
climate experts from the Met Office Hadley Centre.
Research published this month in the Journal of Geophysical
Research explored how observed extreme daily minimum and maximum
temperatures, across different world regions, have changed since 1950.
Minimum temperatures have seen the biggest increases, most
notably over Russia and Canada, where the coldest days are now up
to 4 C warmer than they were in the middle of the 20th Century.
The largest changes in maximum temperature were found across
Canada and Eurasia where they have typically warmed by 1 to 3 C.
Warming across the UK was found to be between 0.5 and 2 C.
Simon Brown, Met Office Climate Scientist said: "This latest
research shows that some extreme events are already increasing.
The trend is set to continue with our changing climate having a
significant impact, with warmer nights and hotter days in the future."
The Met Office is working with many different sectors to explore
the impacts of climate change. Warmer nights and hotter days will
have wide ranging impacts from heat waves, such as the one that
affected Europe in 2003, to changes in crop growing seasons.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
* The Met Office is the UK's National Weather Service,
providing 24x7 world-renowned scientific excellence in weather,
climate and environmental forecasts and severe weather warnings
for the protection of life and property.
* The Met Office Hadley Centre is the UK's foremost centre
for climate change research. Partly funded by Defra (the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the
Ministry of Defence.
* The 2003 European summer heatwave caused between 22,000 and
35,000 heat-related deaths and approaching US$14 billion in
agricultural losses.