Sorry Dave, storms aren't down to climate change: Met Office rubbishes Cameron's assertions over recent bad weather



Prime Minister said the conditions were a result of global warming

But weather service said there was no evidence to support assertion

Statement came as forecasters said rain would ease off this weekend







No evidence: David Cameron claimed the bad weather was caused by global warming on Wednesday

David Cameron has received a frosty response from the weathermen for his comments on climate change.



The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that he suspected global warming was to blame for the recent storms that have battered the country.



But yesterday the Met Office said there was no evidence to support such assertions.Its statement came as forecasters said the relentless rain would ease off this weekend – to be replaced by a cold snap with temperatures falling to -4C (25F) nationwide.



Mr Cameron made his remarks in the Commons when he was asked by a Lib Dem MP whether he believed the gales and torrential rain were ‘a destructive and inevitable consequence at least in part of climate change’.



He replied: ‘I agree with you that we are seeing more abnormal weather events … I very much suspect that it is.’



Climate scientists say no single extreme weather event can be entirely attributed to the changing climate, but the impact of greenhouse gases makes extreme weather – such as floods and droughts – more frequent.



But yesterday the Met Office said that despite December being the stormiest month since 1969, it can be explained by natural variations in the jet stream, the band of fast-moving air which creates winter storms in the US and blows their remnants across the Atlantic.



A spokesman said: ‘At the moment there’s no evidence to suggest that these storms in Britain are more intense because of climate change, but temperature and rainfall extremes have changed around the world, and despite the large variability of our weather, the UK would be expected to share in this trend towards extremes.’



Downpours: Britain has been battered by torrential rain since before Christmas, causing widespread floods





A blog on the Met Office website says the jet stream ‘has been unusually strong this year due to warm and cold air being squeezed together in the mid-latitudes, where the UK sits. This could be due to nothing more than the natural variability which governs Atlantic weather’.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, seen as a sceptic, refused to answer a Labour MP’s question about whether he agreed with the PM, instead talking about flood prevention.



This weekend the rain is expected to give way to a cold snap that will see temperatures drop to -4C (25F) throughout the country.



Hilly areas in the North could see snow tomorrow and there will be frosts in the South. On Sunday rain will return to the South, said forecaster Meteogroup.



Despite the break in rain, flooding is continuing to cause havoc in southern England, with river levels expected to rise.

