Met Office

The UK has had its coolest summer since 2015, according to provisional Met Office statistics. Mean temperatures have been 0.22°C below the long-term meteorological average for the UK, with Scotland and Northern Ireland experiencing generally cooler temperatures. Find out all the details in our Press Release: https://lnkd.in/e5AaKnCZ

Today we’re pleased to welcome Steve Calder, our new Director of Government and Industry Relationships, to the Met Office Executive. Steve will lead our Markets Directorate and be accountable for customer and stakeholder relationships associated with weather and climate services for citizens, industries and governments. These include relationships with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and other key Government departments, civil aviation and industries such as energy, water and transport. Prior to joining the Met Office, Steve worked in management consultancy and has a Civil Service background including the Cabinet Office, HM Land Registry and MoD. He brings significant experience of people, strategy and programme leadership, and delivering large-scale data-led transformations across both government and private industry.

Today along with our partners Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI - Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in the Netherlands, we reveal a new list of storm names for 2024/25.    This year is the tenth year of the storm naming collaboration that helps to raise awareness and give the public the information they need to stay safe in times of severe weather. For Storm Babet, which brought exceptional rainfall to parts of eastern Scotland in October 2023, 97% of people surveyed within the amber and red warning areas were aware of the warnings, with 89% of people taking action to mitigate against any impacts, highlighting how effective storm naming is as a communications tool.    Find out more about this year’s storm names in our latest press release: https://lnkd.in/ewNk4vwd

The latest list of storm names is on the way, but just how stormy was 2023/24’s storm season? From Storm Agnes in September 2023 through to Storm Lilian in August 2024, the UK has had its largest number of named storms since the system was launched in 2015, with 12 named systems in the period.  Met Office Scientist Emily Carlisle examines the changing weather in the UK. She said: “The UK’s storm season is highly variable, and minor changes in meteorological conditions are able to influence the severity of impacts we experience in the UK. “This variability can even be noted in the last two years, with 12 named storms in the most recent year, but just two storms named by the group in the 2022/23 season.” Get an individual breakdown of the storms named in 2023/24 in our blog 👇  https://lnkd.in/emiafxJf

The latest #StateofClimate2023 report confirms 2023 was a record year for a range of climate indicators. The report, published today by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, charts the progress of climate change through analysis of earth observations. Co-ordinated by NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information the report is based on contributions from over 590 scientists, including from the Met Office. Dr Robert Dunn, Met Office Climate Scientist, is one of the report’s authors and editors. He said: “2023 will linger long in the memory of the climate record. Heat from the tropical Pacific courtesy of a strong El Niño event imparted warmth to the planet’s atmosphere ensuring that 2023 was going to be a warm year. We have had El Niño events before, but last year was notable as the El Niño coincided with other events, such as the North Atlantic marine heatwave and the all-time low for Antarctic sea ice extent.” Read the key findings in our news release: https://lnkd.in/eAWAbStN State of the Climate in 2023 report: https://lnkd.in/gxkv2Sb

Storm Lilian has been named, with strong winds and heavy rain likely for many in the north on Friday morning. Lilian is the twelfth named storm of this storm naming season and is the furthest through the list of names the Western European storm naming group has got since storm naming was introduced in 2015: https://lnkd.in/gwV4T_Uu Read more in our news release: https://lnkd.in/epNqMRii

It’s the star at the heart of our solar system, is about 100 times wider than Earth, and holds everything together. But have you considered the vast impact of the Sun? ☀ We’re proud to be hosting part of the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration International Space Apps Challenge once again. This year's event is on the theme of ‘The Sun Touches Everything’, highlighting how the Sun’s presence reaches every community around the globe 🌍 Participants will be able to connect with fellow attendees, learn new programs, gain knowledge, and explore innovative approaches to new and existing problems using NASA’s data. Our event takes place on 5-6 October. It's free to attend, with meals, snacks and drinks provided throughout the weekend at no charge. Free childcare is also available on-site for those who want to attend with young children 👨👧👦 It's been run by Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence - a partnership between the Met Office and the University of Exeter, and Tech Exeter. You can find out more and sign up now ⤵ https://lnkd.in/ed5MMjrd #SpaceApps #SpaceAppsExeter #NASA

It’s 20 years since a devastating flood swept through the small Cornish village of Boscastle. A month’s worth of rain fell in just two hours, causing two rivers to burst their banks and about two billion litres of water to rush straight into the village. Whilst rainfall was in the forecast that day, the intensity of that rainfall and its impact on the village was not predicted, meaning residents had little time to react. But would things be different if this happened today? In our latest blog post, the Met Office’s Professor Brian Golding says we would be ‘much better prepared today’ than we were in 2004. https://lnkd.in/esnNbn8v

Between March 2023 to February 2024 around 8.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were released because of global wildfires, says a new annual study. This is 16% above the average. Record breaking fires in Canada, western Amazonia, Chile, Greece and Hawaii added to the total. The Met Office’s Chantelle Burton is a global wildfire expert and author of the report. She said: “The intensity and frequency of wildfires are increasing globally because of climate change. This is causing devastating impacts of society, the environment and biodiversity.” The greater release of carbon was also due to fire-affected forests holding dense carbon stocks being more widespread than usual.  The report is co-led: Met Office; University of East Anglia; European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehmmpGgU

Machine learning could help to produce more accurate, more detailed urban heat forecasts, according to new research led by the Met Office. As part of the research, which was supported by University of Reading, machine learning was informed by citizen observations, land cover data and the Met Office’s operational forecast to predict urban heat at a hyper local level. The method was found to improve accuracy of the temperature forecast by around 11%, at a resolution that is 225x more detailed than standard Met Office operational forecasts. Lead author and Met Office urban modelling expert Lewis Blunn said: “We can already observe an increase in extreme heat events in the UK and the greatest impacts are often felt in cities. “In a warming world, machine learning can be used to better understand impacts on communities at a much finer scale and could increase resilience and ultimately save lives.” Read the release in full ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eHZDHHXv