2022 will be warmest year ever for UK, Met Office says

The Met Office has said 2022 will be the warmest year on record for the UK.

According to provisional figures, every month was hotter than average, with the exception of December when the UK experienced a notable cold snap.

The year's average temperature will likely beat the previous all-time high of 9.88C, set in 2014.

The head of the Met Office said there was "consistent heat" throughout the year, with the exact mean temperature set to be confirmed in the new year.

"While many will remember the summer's extreme heat, what has been noteworthy this year has been the relatively consistent heat through the year, with every month except December being warmer than average," Dr Mark McCarthy said.

He said the provisional figures are in line with the "genuine impacts we expect as a result of human-induced climate change".

"Although it doesn't mean every year will be the warmest on record, climate change continues to increase the chances of increasingly warm years over the coming decades," Dr McCarthy added.

A spell of heatwaves in June led to the UK experiencing its fourth warmest summer on record, as temperatures broke the 40C mark for the first time.

During the intense heat in July, the Met Office issued its first ever red warning for extreme heat.

Every month was hotter than average with the exception of the cold snap at the beginning of December. According to Met Office figures, the first two weeks of December were the coldest since 2010.

In a separate report, the National Trust warned that extreme weather seen throughout the year has set a benchmark for what a typical year could be like.

The charity said high temperatures, drought and back-to-back storms have created major challenges for nature in years to come.

In its annual review, it described such conditions as the "new normal".

It said this year was a "stark illustration" of the difficulties many UK species could face without more action to tackle climate change.

The hot summer and months of low rainfall dried up rivers, fragile chalk streams and ponds, damaged crops and natural habitats, and fuelled wildfires that destroyed landscapes, the charity said.

Wildfires on National Trust land scorched areas such as Zennor Head, Cornwall, Bolberry Down in south Devon, Baggy Point in north Devon and Studland in Dorset, destroying homes of species including rare sand lizards.

The dry conditions affected natterjack toads, whose shallow ponds for breeding dried up, and bats that had to be rescued in the heatwave.

Trees planted last winter to store carbon and boost woodland habitat were hit by the drought and extreme heat, with 50% of saplings lost on estates such as Wimpole in Cambridgeshire and Buscot and Coleshill in Oxfordshire.

In contrast, the calm, dry spring weather resulted in a few success stories, especially for this year's apple harvest due to the lack of late frosts and blossom lasting on the trees for longer.

Many parts of the UK have seen an abundance of seeds and nuts such as acorns, beech masts, rowan berries and elderberries including the east of England, North and Northern Ireland.

This phenomenon, known as a mast year, usually happens every four to five years but this year's has been unusual, with trees fruiting earlier than normal.

The National Trust's climate change adviser, Keith Jones, said there was "no escaping" how challenging this year's weather had been for nature.

"Drought, high temperatures, back-to-back storms, unseasonal heat, the recent cold snap and floods means nature, like us, is having to cope with a new litany of weather extremes," he said.

He added weather experts were predicting the future would see more torrential downpours, along with very dry and hot summers.

Alongside the weather extremes this year, wild birds were also hit by avian flu, with thousands of seabirds dying in colonies on the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland, where they had returned to breed.

The National Trust said conservation work to improve habitats was helping make the environment and species more resilient to the changes brought by rising temperatures.