27 April 2007

April to be 'warmest on record'

This April is set to become the warmest since records began in England more than 300 years ago, the Met Office has said.

The announcement comes as forecasters predicted another weekend of above average temperatures for most of the country.

The Central England Temperature (CET) is the world's longest running temperature series and dates back to 1659. April 2007 and the 12-month rolling period ending in April 2007 are set to become the warmest since the records began 348 years ago.

The latest mean CET records show that the provisional figure for May 2006 to April 2007 is 11.6C, beating the previous record of 11.1C for the 12-month period ending October 1995.

The provisional figure for April 2007 is 11.1C beating the previous record of 10.6C set in 1865.

The last 12 months have included the warmest month ever - July - and record temperatures for the month of September and the autumn.

The Met Office said that recent temperature rises are in line with recent findings by Dr Peter Stott of the Met Office Hadley Centre and Professor David Karoly of the University of Oklahoma.

Their research showed the recent rapid warming of the CET is almost certainly due to human influence - the first time this has been rigorously identified on such a small geographic scale.

Dr Debbie Hemming, climate scientist at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: "The effects of temperature rise are being experienced on a global scale. Many of the regions that are projected to experience the largest climate changes are already vulnerable to environmental stress from resource shortages, rapid urbanisation, population rise and industrial development."

(KMcA/JM)