Winter Warm Spells See a Two- to Three- Fold Increase in Duration and Frequency in UK Temperature Records

Typography

Analysis of historical temperature data led by University of Warwick shows warm spells in winter occurring more often and for longer periods

  • Analysis of historical temperature data led by University of Warwick shows warm spells in winter occurring more often and for longer periods
  • Uses over a hundred years of data from the Central England Temperature (CET) record
  • Has implications for ecology, sustainability and agriculture

Warm winter spells have increased in frequency and duration two- to three times over since 1878, according to scientists led by the University of Warwick.

In a new analysis of historical daily temperature data published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, scientists from the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, the British Antarctic Survey, and at the London School of Economics and Political Science examined data from the Central England Temperature (CET) record, the longest available instrumental record of temperature in the world. They focused on warm spells during the winter months, defined as sustained periods of time above a fixed temperature threshold.

Read more at University of Warwick

Image: Professor Sandra Chapman of the University of Warwick Department of Physics. (Credit: University of Physics)