CLIMATE UPDATE – May 2013
TOP LINES: May was close to average for temperature and sunshine but 50% wetter than an average May.
May statistics:
Average Temperature: 8.4°C which is 0.2°C below the long-term average (1971-2000)
Average Rainfall: 117.7mm, which is 49% higher than the long-term average
Average Sunshine: 161.2hrs, which is 8% lower than the long-term average
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“May can be one of the best months in Scotland but we saw only a few days of warmth and sunshine, with most of the month being pretty wet. There was even some late snow. We also saw some of the cost of our disrupted climate, with the Scottish Government having to put up £6m to compensate farmers for livestock losses over the winter.
“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 world needs good examples but Scotland won’t be one if we miss our targets.
“In a few weeks we will see the Scottish Government’s final plan to meet the targets between now and 2027. Even if every policy in the draft plan 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. April was cooler and wetter than average but also very sunny, being the 10th sunniest April 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