THE CLIMATE IS GETTING WETTER AND WARMER
The UK's climate is changing and bringing more warm spells and tropical nights, according to the Met Office. And with Ireland only across the water you can also say the same.
A report examining weather extremes found that the UK's warm spells between 2008 and 2017 were twice as long as they were between 1961 and 1990.
And our hottest days are an average of 0.8C (33F) warmer than the hottest days between 1961 and 1990.
On the other hand, our coldest days are 1.7C (35F) milder than they were between 1961 and 1990.
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office's National Climate Information Centre which produced the report, said: "Minimum overnight temperatures of over 20C (68F) in the UK are rare currently and even during this summer this threshold was only exceeded on a few occasions.
"However, with projections in climate suggesting warmer temperatures, it is useful to have this metric in place, so that future changes can be monitored."
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Tropical nights - where temperatures stay above 20C (68F) - are still rare and only really started to be noticed around 1995 but they are likely to become more common in the future.
Between 2008 and last year, a number of tropical nights were seen in the South East, the Midlands and South Wales.
Our weather is also getting wetter, with 17% more extremely wet days between 2008 and 2017 compared to 1961 to 1990.
Dr McCarthy said: "Monthly, seasonal and annual climate data provide a valuable record of the changing climate in the UK.
"However, these average figures have a tendency to mask extreme weather and climate events."
2019 CALENDAR NOW ON SALE
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