Temperature set to hit 100 degrees - and global warming is to blame First Edition

• Published in: Independent (London, England : 1986)
• Main Author: Michael McCarthy and Steve Connor
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Independent Digital News & Media 19.07.2006
• ISSN: 0951-9467

For most of the 20th century, British temperatures did not exceed the record of 98F (36.7C) set at Raunds in Northamptonshire on 9 August 1911. But on 3 August 1990, this was smashed when 98.8 F (37.1C) was recorded in Cheltenham, then broken again at Brogdale in 2003. Now it may be broken yet again. These new peaks do not in themselves prove global warming, say scientists - but global warming makes them much more likely. "As you get a warming trend in temperatures, which is what we are observing, the risk of exceeding extreme temperatures increases dramatically," said Peter Stott of the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research. "This is what we saw with the European heatwave of 2003. When we analysed it, we found that the rise in average temperatures over the previous century of about one degree had doubled the risk of an extreme event like the heatwave of that year. People should remember the downside to rising temperatures, said Sir John Houghton, former head of the Met Office, and chairman of the scientific working group of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1988 to 2002. "Yes, we can enjoy the heatwave when it comes," said Sir John. "There's no point in saying let's be miserable. But let's remember, let's recognise that the world is warming, and let's remember that the downside is very severe. We are already going outside the range of what a lot of people can cope with and what a lot of ecosystems can cope with, and a lot of crops."