27/04/2007

April to be 'warmest on record'

This April is set to become the warmest since records began in England more than 300 years ago, the Met Office has said.

The announcement comes as forecasters predicted another weekend of above average temperatures for most of the country.

The Central England Temperature (CET) is the world's longest running temperature series and dates back to 1659. April 2007 and the 12-month rolling period ending in April 2007 are set to become the warmest since the records began 348 years ago.

The latest mean CET records show that the provisional figure for May 2006 to April 2007 is 11.6C, beating the previous record of 11.1C for the 12-month period ending October 1995.

The provisional figure for April 2007 is 11.1C beating the previous record of 10.6C set in 1865.

The last 12 months have included the warmest month ever - July - and record temperatures for the month of September and the autumn.

The Met Office said that recent temperature rises are in line with recent findings by Dr Peter Stott of the Met Office Hadley Centre and Professor David Karoly of the University of Oklahoma.

Their research showed the recent rapid warming of the CET is almost certainly due to human influence - the first time this has been rigorously identified on such a small geographic scale.

Dr Debbie Hemming, climate scientist at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: "The effects of temperature rise are being experienced on a global scale. Many of the regions that are projected to experience the largest climate changes are already vulnerable to environmental stress from resource shortages, rapid urbanisation, population rise and industrial development."

(KMcA/JM)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

01 July 2015
Met Office Records Hottest Temperatures Since 2006
The Met Office has recorded the hottest temperatures since 2006 in England. Data taking today 1 July in parts of the southeast and central areas of the UK have seen temperatures rise over 30 degrees. Other regions have already experienced 34 degrees, with London expected to reach 35 or 36 degrees.
22 September 2011
Business Records Checks Programme Extended
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced an extension of its Business Records Checks programme. Business Records Checks were piloted earlier this year in eight key areas, and involve checks on the adequacy of small and medium-sized enterprises' business records.
01 August 2006
July was hottest month on record
July 2006 was the warmest month across the UK since records began in 1914, the Met Office has reported. The Met Office confirmed that the UK mean daily temperature for the month was 17.8C, breaking the previous record of 17.5C which was set jointly in July 1983 and August 1995.
03 July 2006
Heatwave warning as temperatures soar
The government has issued a heatwave warning as parts of England look set to bask in temperatures rising above 30C until Wednesday. The Met Office has raised the Heat-Health alert to Level 3, the first time this level has been reached since the service was started in 2004.
25 February 2015
Teenage Pregnancies At Their Lowest Since Records Began
Teenage pregnancies in England and Wales are at their lowest since records began in 1969, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed. The figures show that pregnancies amongst under 18s is currently 24.5 per one thousand women, down from 27.9 in the previous year.