State of the UK Climate 2023

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Abstract

This report provides a summary of the UK's weather and climate through the calendar year 2023, alongside the historical context for a number of essential climate variables. This is the tenth in a series of annual ‘State of the UK Climate’ publications, published in the International Journal of Climatology (IJC) since 2017, and an update to the 2022 report (Kendon et al., 2023). It provides an accessible, authoritative and up-to-date assessment of UK climate trends, variations and extremes based on the most up to date observational datasets of climate quality. Success is by no means a necessary result of efforts to secure it. Although, therefore, with each consecutive year I have adopted additional precautions against any errors either of observation or computation creeping into this work, it by no means follows that I shall continue to be as successful in keeping them out as I have hitherto been; in fact, in spite of every care, it is hardly reasonable to hope for a continuance of such remarkably small tables of errata as there have been of late years. This report provides a summary of the UK's weather and climate through the calendar year 2023, alongside the historical context for a number of essential climate variables. This is the tenth in a series of annual ‘State of the UK Climate’ publications, published in the International Journal of Climatology (IJC) since 2017, and an update to the 2022 report (Kendon et al., 2023). It provides an accessible, authoritative and up-to-date assessment of UK climate trends, variations and extremes based on the most up to date observational datasets of climate quality. The majority of this report is based on observations of temperature, precipitation, sunshine and wind speed from the UK land weather station network as managed by the Met Office and a number of key partners and co-operating volunteers. The observations are carefully managed so that they conform to current best-practice observational standards as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The observations also pass through a range of quality assurance procedures at the Met Office before application for climate monitoring. Time series of near-coast sea-surface temperature and sea-level are also presented, and in addition there is a short section on phenology that provides dates of ‘first leaf’ and ‘bare tree’ indicators for four common shrub or tree species plus several other indicators. The reliance of this report on these observations highlights the ongoing need to maintain the observation networks, in particular the UK land weather station network, into the future. This is vital if the UK's climate monitoring capability is to be continued. National and regional statistics in this report are from the HadUK-Grid dataset which is the principal source of data (Hollis et al., 2019). County-level statistics are also provided in some sections. Temperature and rainfall series from this dataset extend back to 1884 and 1836, respectively. Details of the datasets used throughout this report and how the various series which are presented are derived are provided in the Appendices A–C. The report presents summary statistics for the most recent year 2023 and the most recent decade 2014–2023 against the 30-year standard climate normal period 1991–2020 and the baseline period 1961–1990, following World Meteorological Organization climatological best practice (WMO, 2017). The baseline reference period 1961–1990 provides a consistent reference period used throughout the series of State of UK Climate reports and for historical climate monitoring and climate The series provides a is also to for the Temperature The decade 2014–2023 provides a of the most recent of the UK's climate and how it to historical and 2023, and the 30-year reference variations as as this annual the most recent decade every the most recent 30-year reference period every The reference period 1991–2020 with the the and and so on to the 1991–2020 reference period The majority of in this report the year 2023 to they are that the in this from to 1961–1990 are also of are in most these are by the which is for by and from the this this is of a the data are presented to in recent is to in a UK Climate for annual temperature and rainfall are to context to in tables throughout this report are the such is in the the most recent decade with this is from the The summary and in the report most recent decade of and year with 1991–2020 and as of The is most recent decade of and year with 1991–2020 and The in the UK's climate with the number of and by a or The is in the UK's climate with the number of and by and The and and as presented and the report are This is published alongside the State of UK Climate 2022 report any for of this any to the Met Office at This State of the UK Climate report by the Met Office Climate by sea-level for the of 2023 to the 1991–2020 the et al., This provides an of for each on the are for have HadUK-Grid UK sea-level to 1991–2020 for the most recent decade 2014–2023 and the series the in in the UK's which to be out on a the also out since in weather with calendar and each a of weather the UK in and the UK the 1991–2020 the for any calendar since also normal in and with a from and to the and in particular the weather and normal for the other of the most in and to each of these a from to the and in of the these the and weather and at the of the year with of weather the The for any of the most recent decade 2014–2023 by and and the UK of any in the series from any in 2023 of the and of (Kendon and the UK's on in the series from the from to 2023 provides of the and throughout the report to the year in which and This is a of the in the the and which the of the and is the principal of of in this the is the is and with and the is the is with an for weather the of weather The for 2023 so of of the most recent decade the other in the series have been to be with a 2023 and 2023 in the of the UK with weather The UK a of in the most recent consistent with a of the the of and 2023 the a annual also with of the and and the which are by the in the from to 2023 provides of the to the this is a of climate in the based on the based on a and the the of the in The for 2023 also to be with and 2023 and and and and and and with the of the to and the and with a of from to The recent in the some the UK's annual in the weather and the or the of UK or of the of weather and temperature and rainfall through the the UK's small The UK temperature for 2023 which is the 1991–2020 2023 the year on in the UK series from 1884 2022 The to and and The UK temperature the 1961–1990 baseline This the year on for and the for and for The of also year in a series from 2023). year on for the majority of and the year with other and to the and these The UK annual temperature for 2023 also the on it the UK's year on for annual temperature the 1991–2020 and temperature the UK with for and and for the UK for and annual and and for the UK and for UK temperature for the most recent decade of the of the year with in and and the for the UK since of the year in the for the UK in series from and this is also for and 2017, and to in of the UK and also the of the the this in and is the year in the UK series the of the year with the most a in other in the most recent decade have at with a this and and and for 2022 in the and annual for the UK and for the most recent decade 2014–2023 against 1961–1990 and The most recent decade 2014–2023 been 1991–2020 and 1961–1990, with the most and and the most recent decade 2014–2023 to 1961–1990, have for the UK by for and for with the in for and the in for statistics annual and in the UK's climate in addition to the ongoing to climate a series of annual for the UK from 1884 to 2023 and that the period of for the UK been from the at a of decade in for every up on the The in the series are 2022 and of the to 2023 have been the for the UK 2017, 2022 and and this is the period in the UK in the UK series have in the of the in this the most recent of these The year this is in the UK every other year this in the in the the year in the UK series from 1884 to of the since for the period to have been annual and for the UK from 1884 to 2023 as to series are is for with the most recent decade 1961–1990 for and for The UK temperature range is been a small recent in the to to before the UK temperature for four with the annual the series and some with a in temperature four from the or The most recent decade 2014–2023 out of in the in series in in and four in 2017, and in and four in and have in the The in these statistics is a of the number and of in the network which through and annual the standard is and the is the this report and temperature data are presented in tables to the and annual temperature data to to the and how they are is provided in key of the of the UK's climate is the number of which have in and annual temperature series in recent years. 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the temperature with the for of and and of annual and the of these in the of the or of the most recent decade 2014–2023 have been in the in series for any of the and no out of these the of the UK's climate on of and and annual temperature annual for the series from and for from 1884 to a by and The temperature in the HadUK-Grid dataset in are by the with the 2023 the year in the series with an annual of the 1991–2020 with 2022 of the in the most recent in the series have been in the 2017, 2022 and as the UK 2023 the year in the series also the year in the series with an annual of series from The series provides that the so been any period of in the and that have also been the to the annual is with with and and with some variations The most recent decade been the period in the and 2023 the year in the series in which every calendar the 1961–1990 The and series are of for the period of and have a of which is to the series as in The series be a for an series from these are datasets in 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that the date that in of and This in 2023, with at of from to with in and of the This the most of since the of for on no or and The UK temperature on on with at and for each of the year and each of the are provided the Met Office Climate and from the Met Office and and and of the annual of UK and temperature as for 1961–1990, 1991–2020 and the most recent decade and for year an of how these temperature have a annual with in the extremes of the of particular the most recent decade the by to 1961–1990 the of the year be by and the by The by to 1961–1990 the of the year be by and the by is these statistics they that extremes of temperature are the the of an based on an an of the number of year for of the UK in which the temperature on that that the and the 1961–1990, the most recent decade 2014–2023 and for year be as and with the also for and The on these is for the most recent year 2023 and for the most recent decade 2014–2023 for 1991–2020 and 1961–1990 since these and against 30-year 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