Climate Update – April 2013

TOP LINE: April was cooler and wetter than average but also very sunny, being the 10th sunniest April on record

April statistics:
Average Temperature: 4.8°C which is 0.9°C below the long-term average (1971-2000)
Average Rainfall: 121.2mm, which is 40% higher than the long-term average
Average Sunshine: 170.9hrs, which is 30% higher than the long-term average, making it the 10th sunniest on record

Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“After a dry start to the year, April brought serious rain and strong winds, which whipped up dust storms in the north east. While we had cool, wet weather, nearly half of US states are still suffering a prolonged drought and 2013 is already being predicted to be globally the warmest year ever recorded.

“Scotland has a great Climate Act and really tough climate targets, but we missed the first target in 2010 and probably just scraped through the 2011 target. The Scottish Government is currently putting the final touches to the plan which should show how we will meet the targets between now and 2027.

“Even if every policy delivers as planned, every proposal is turned into a firm policy on time and delivers fully, and Europe tightens up its own emissions targets, we will only just scrape through on the targets. There is no slack built in. If anything at all goes wrong Scotland will miss multiple targets, with the key 42% reduction by 2020 being one of the most vulnerable. The Government needs to turn more proposals into policies and to add more wiggle room so we can really meet our targets.”

The year so far

January was slightly warmer and drier than average but not very sunny. February was the 4th sunniest February on record and was cool and dry. March was exceptionally cold and dry, being the was the 5th coldest and 6th driest March on record

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Data from the Met Office http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/datasets/index.html with further analysis by Friends of the Earth Scotland.

2. FoE Scotland are encouraging people to email the Climate Minister and ask him to strengthen Scotland’s climate plan foes.do/Minister-climate-plan

3. The five warmest years since records began are 2006, 2003, 2007, 2004, 2005 (warmest first).

4. FoE Scotland is part of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, an alliance of development, environment and civil society groups aiming for tougher action to reduce emissions
www.stopclimatechaos.org/scotland