Met Office warns 40C heatwaves could become ‘much more normal event’ in the UK ‘every three years’

The Met Office has warned that unbearably hot weather in the UK could become a “much more normal event” with temperatures hitting 40C “every three years.”

Last year the UK recorded temperatures above 40C for the first time in history, however this year Britain has not seen much of a summer despite the mercury topping 45C in Europe.

Met Office’s Dr Mark McCarthy, science manager of the National Climate Information Centre (NCIC) warned the moving forwards the UK will see 40C heatwaves.

Dr McCarthy told the Met Office’s Weather Snap podcast, “We know that our climate is changing so as we move forward – looking toward the latter part of this century – it may be a much more normal event.

“The likelihood then as we go to the end of the century depends on our actions now and what pathway of greenhouse gas emissions we follow globally.

“If we’re talking about a 100-year return time for the current climate, by the end of the century – under a high emissions scenario – it may be occurring once every three to four years.

“But under a more medium emissions scenario, perhaps it’s one in every 15 to 20 years. So the emissions pathways we take in the future can have a real impact on the risks and likelihood of this sort of event occurring.”