Scotland heading for warmest year ever
2014 likely to be Scotland's warmest year ever
TOP LINES FOR SCOTLAND FROM JANUARY TO OCTOBER 2014:
2014 is on course to be the warmest year ever recorded in Scotland, with an average temperature of 8.3°Celsius.
The 1981-2010 average is 7.4°Celsius and the warmest year so far was 2006
The average temperature of the first 10 months of the year have been the highest ever
All but one month in 2014 have been warmer, and 7 months more than 1°Celsius warmer, than the 1981-2010 average
Spring 2014 was the warmest spring ever recorded
Temperature – April was the 4th warmest April, June was the equal 4th warmest June and September was the 5th warmest September ever recorded
Rain – February was the 5th wettest February and October was the 3rd wettest October ever recorded
Sunshine – July was the 4th sunniest July ever recorded
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said,
“With the warmest spring ever and every month bar one above average so far, 2014 is on course to be the hottest year ever recorded in Scotland. This would mean that eight years since 2000 are in the top ten warmest since records began in 1910. Scotland’s weather is showing a very clear long-term trend of increasing temperatures, just as climate change scientists predict.
“Climate change brings not just increasing global temperatures but increasingly unpredictable weather. Scotland is caught between the changing influences of disappearing Arctic ice, the shifting jet stream and a weakening Gulf Stream. The consequences for us are more extreme and more unpredictable weather, bringing more flooding, storms and droughts.”
The world’s nations have agreed to set new emission reduction targets at the UN Climate conference in Paris at the end of 2015. Two weeks ago the world’s leading climate scientists issued their starkest warning yet that we are headed for a climate disaster.
“We should heed the warnings the weather is giving us because things will get much worse if the world continues to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at the current rate. Scotland has great ambitions on reducing climate emissions, but we need to work harder on meeting our own targets. The US and China have started to get serious about reducing climate change emissions but Europe needs to start offering more if there is to be an effective deal agreed in Paris.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. Data from the Met Office http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/datasets with further analysis by Friends of the Earth Scotland.
2. The five warmest years in Scotland since records began in 1910 are 2006, 2003, 2007, 2004, 2005 (warmest first). 7 of the 10 warmest years on record have been since 2000.
3. The latest reports from the UN spell out the need for urgent action on climate change: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/node/1915, http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/node/1817 & http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/node/1826
4. The next UN climate conference, preparing the way for the Paris talks, starts in Lima on the 1st December. Friends of the Earth Scotland will be represented by Head of Campaigns Mary Church.
5. Friends of the Earth Scotland is part of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, an alliance of development, environment and civil society groups aiming for tougher action to reduce emissions http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/scotland
6. Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
* Scotland's leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups.
www.foe-scotland.org.uk
2014 temperatures so far compared to the 1981-2010 average