Completely ruining our plans for sunny walks and afternoons in beer gardens, the rain this year seems RELENTLESS.
Looking at a seven day forecast is like staring into the abyss in some parts of the UK. Rain as far as the eye can see. Miserable.
According to BBC News, we also had the eighth wettest winter since records began more than 150 years ago and this March, England and Wales had more than one and a half times their average March rainfall.
So, why is it raining so much in the uk right now?
Sorry to say it but it comes down to climate change.
Warm air is able to hold more moisture and according to the BBC, for every degree of warming, the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere increases by around 7% fuelling more intense rainfall.
This is actually a glimpse into our future weather events.
The Met Office has predicted that by 2070, winters in the UK will be up to 30% wetter than they were in 1990 and that rainfall will be up to 25% more intense. Our summers are expected to get drier overall with more heatwaves and droughts but when it rains, it will be 20% more intense than it was in 1990.
The Met Office said: “More rainfall could happen in winter storms, too. While the temperatures may be milder, winters will tend to be wetter, with more potential for flooding.
″... Hourly rainfall exceeding 30mm per hour is a threshold used by the Met Office and the Environment Agency Flood Forecasting Centre to issue flash flood alerts. By 2070, we project we will meet this threshold twice as often as we did in 1990.”
How is the UK preparing for future rain events?
The UK Government has pledged £5.2 billion for new flood and coastal defences by 2027. This is part of the plan for a green industrial revolution, announced back in November 2020.
I guess it’s time to invest in a strong umbrella.