Global warming still rising in 2016

The world is on course for a third consecutive year of record average temperatures, according to the UK’s Met Office.

Leon Brown, chief forecaster at Birmingham-based The Weather Channel said it was highly likely that a record United Kingdom high temperature for December 19 would be reached on Saturday, beating the 15.5C recorded in Hemsby, Norfolk, in 1993.

“The vast majority of the warming is global warming, but the icing on the cake is the big El Niño event”, said Professor Adam Scaife, the head of monthly to decadal prediction at the Met Office.

A year ago, the outlook for 2015 called a central appraisal of 0.64 above the average.

2015 is now seeing average temperatures of 0.72 degrees above averages from the period between 1961 and 1990, and their data predicts that 2016 looks set to be warmer still. This is despite 2015 being on track to be the warmest year on record.

Nicky Maxey from the UK Met Office said: “We are experiencing mild and wet weather at the moment and that is set to continue”.

The agency said it had been the fourth mildest start to December across the United Kingdom since 1960, with temperatures 7C above the seasonal average.

A Met Office spokesman said: “Temperatures continue to be exceptionally mild today – it is going to be feeling 14C (57.2F) to 15C (59F) in most parts of the country”.

A band of tropical air coming off the Atlantic from the south west is behind the unseasonal weather.

He doesn’t expect this year-on-year rise to go on, however.

There has also been none of the usual signs of frost.

The last time the United Kingdom had a widespread White Christmas was in 2010, when 83 Met Office stations saw snow.