Communicating changes in the intensity of UK heatwaves

Hawkins, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-3677, Sutton, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8345-8583 and Kendon, M. (2026) Communicating changes in the intensity of UK heatwaves. Weather. ISSN 1477-8696 doi: 10.1002/wea.70062

Abstract/Summary

Communicating how people are already affected by climate change is challenging, partly because global warming of ‘just’ 1°C does not necessarily sound like a problem. However, the hottest UK summer days have warmed more than 3 times faster than the rate of global warming in the past century. Using a simple observation‐based approach, we estimate that for the hottest UK day on record, when temperatures reached 40°C in 2022, a comparable day a century ago would have peaked around 36°C. Similarly, several historical days would now reach 40°C if comparable events reoccurred, offering novel opportunities to communicate risks from ongoing global warming.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129495
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/wea.70062
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > NCAS Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Wiley
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