
This year has been a perfect example of how British weather is changing, with as many months spent enduring snowy, icy conditions as there were enjoying one of the longest heatwaves on record.
The Met Office has released data that shows how extreme weather has become more normal in the UK over the last few decades, which could be of particular interest to homeowners who like their gardens well maintained and in bloom.
Its findings revealed the hottest day of each year between 2008 and 2017 was 0.8C warmer than from 1961 to 1990. It also reported that warm spells have more than doubled over this time, from 5.3 days to 13.2 days.
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “In our latest report, we have focused on those measures [that] record weather extremes … which shows how the UK’s climate is changing.”
The data does not even take into account the extremely disparate weather conditions the UK experienced in 2018, going from temperatures as low as -14C in March to recording the hottest day in April since 1949 just a few weeks later, when the mercury hit 29.1C in London.
This launched the start of a heatwave that lasted until August, with low rainfalls and scorching temperatures. Gardens all over the UK dried up and hosepipe bans were imposed in some areas of the country to preserve water supplies.
Having awareness of the changing weather conditions could help homeowners keep on top of their gardens better, being able to predict when to sow seeds and plant bulbs, as well as save rain water to use on the grass if a drought does occur later in the summer.
For reassurance that your outdoor space will be well looked after no matter the weather, get in touch with our garden services in London today.