In the UK, a prolonged dry spell is putting further pressure on already strained water supplies, increasing concerns about water shortages and drought conditions.
England and Wales experienced their driest July since records began 190 years ago, according to the Met Office. Large parts of England and the whole of Wales have already been officially declared in drought.
The Environment Agency has warned that additional areas of England could be declared in drought if the dry weather continues.
The latest Met Office climate report says weather conditions once considered extreme are increasingly becoming the “new normal” in the UK.
The assessment found that the hottest day of the year in southern England is now 4.5C warmer than it was between 1961 and 1990, highlighting the growing impact of climate change.
“We are right now living in a time of historic and unprecedented change,” said Mike Kendon, a Met Office climate information scientist. He added that “evidence shows the climate of the 20th century has now gone”.
Scientists say the El Niño weather pattern could temporarily push global temperatures even higher. Its effects are being felt against a backdrop of human-caused global warming, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels.
Global temperatures are now approximately 1.4C higher on average than they were in the late 19th century, contributing to more frequent extreme heat, drought and climate-related risks.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk