Climate change: UK sea level rise is accelerating, according to the Met Office

The annual analysis of the UK’s climate and weather by the Met Office shows that sea levels are increasing significantly more quickly than they did a century ago.

According to the State of the Climate report, warmer temperatures are now considered the norm in Britain.

The earlier arrival of spring and the failure of plant and animal life to evolve quickly enough to cope with climate change are both concerns raised by conservationists.

The report emphasises once more how the UK is being impacted by climate change.

It further explained that the UK is rising a little more quickly than the average global temperature rise.

Since 1900, sea levels have increased by around 16.5 cm (6.5 ins), although the Met Office reports that the rate of rising is accelerating. They are currently increasing at a rate of 3–5.2 mm per year, which is more than twice as fast as they were in the early part of the previous century.

This is making more of the shore vulnerable to strong storm surges and winds, which harm the ecosystem and houses. According to specialists, there is a risk of flooding for about 500,000 dwellings.

According to the analysis, even though the UK’s climate in 2021 was “unremarkable” by today’s standards, it was unusual 30 years ago. This is due to the earth’s changing climate due to climate change, making hotter temperatures the norm.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, greenhouse gases produced by human activity are to blame. The predicted increase in global temperature over the next 20 years is 1.5C or more.

It emphasises that 1992 would have been one of the UK’s warmest years on record had last year’s temperatures taken place in that year instead.

Early-blooming species were delayed last year by unusually cold temperatures in April, according to the Met Office, but early-blooming species went into leaf even sooner.

According to Professor Tim Sparks of the Woodland Trust, September and October were warmer than usual, which delayed autumn and caused trees to lose their leaves longer than usual.