Data also shows that none of Britain’s coldest years have happened since 1963

The UK’s 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2002, the Met Office has said. Its statistics stretching back to 1884 reveal a worrying trend, as the planet as a whole deals with the climate crisis.

In a further indication of how the climate is heating up, the records show that none of the UK’s 10 coldest years have occurred since 1963.

“The world has warmed 1C since pre-industrial times, meaning that hot years are the new normal,” said Dr Michael Byrne from the University of St Andrews. “Not only is the UK getting warmer, but also wetter, with 13% more summer rain compared to last century. With global emissions of greenhouse gases on the rise, the UK will continue to get warmer and wetter as global warming accelerates.

“The science of climate change is now clear. The UK government must ramp up preparations and ensure that our infrastructure and citizens are prepared for what is to come.”

The data formed part of the Met Office’s latest annual state of the climate report, published in the International Journal of Climatology. The temperature series for the UK has been extended back by 26 years from 1910, as the data was added as part of ongoing work to digitise historical weather records.

Dr Mark McCarthy, the head of the Met Office’s national climate information centre, said the extra data revealed a “very interesting timeline, with the top 10 warmest years at the most recent end, since 2002”.

He said no new warm years were added as a result of the additions, though some years that sit among the 10 coldest are now included.

The records now show 1892 was the coldest year, with the average temperature just over 7C, while the warmest year was 2014, with an average temperature approaching 10C, he said. On average, the temperature across the UK between 2009 and 2018 was 0.9C warmer than the average for 1961–1990.

Last year joined the top 10 warmest years at number seven, despite the severe “beast from the east” cold snap early in the year. The UK had the most significant snowfall since 2010 in those 12 months, though snow has become less common since the 1960s, the Met Office said.

Sunshine also appears to be on the up: average hours of bright weather for 2009-2018 were up 7% on the average for 1961-1990, while the team found the period from May to June 2018 was the sunniest three month stretch since 1929.

In a year of extremes, the UK had a heatwave last summer, which the experts said was made 30 times more likely by climate change, and the season was the equal-hottest summer on record along with 2006.

The UK data adds to a global picture of a planet that’s heating up, with this July on track to be the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, and 2019 expected to be the second hottest year. The hottest was 2016, which was boosted by an El Niño weather system. Nine of the 10 hottest years ever recorded globally have occurred since 2000.

Mike Kendon, a climate information scientist and co-author of the report, said the results reflect the trend in global heating. “What affects the globe also affects the UK,” he said.

“Climate change is not some abstract thing in the future that we are predicting is going to happen. The point is that climate change is happening and it is happening now.”

Kate Sambrook, a climate researcher at the University of Leeds who was not involved in the report, said the findings should be a wake-up call.

“International comparisons of public climate change beliefs indicate that UK residents are unconcerned about climate change and favour the prospect of hotter summers,” said Sambrook, adding that more needs to be done to convey the full implications of the UK’s changing climate.

“Understanding what shapes public perceptions of climate change is significantly important, as this could provide scientists, policymakers and campaigners with the tools they need to communicate climate change more effectively and as a result motivate more people to act.”

