2022 named UK’s hottest year on record

Is it too late to stop climate change? For the first time
ever, Britain’s average temperature has risen above
10C. It is a worrying sign for climate scientists.

In classrooms, school students sweltered as the temperature soared. In parks, the grass turned from green to brown. In supermarkets, shoppers rushed to buy the last few fans still on the shelves. Last year, Britain recorded its highest temperature on record — more than 40C. Now, the Met Office says that 2022 was the UK’s warmest year ever. Every month (apart from December) was warmer than normal. The average temperature was likely higher than 2014, the past record holder at 9.88C.

But it was not just heat waves that made the headlines last year. In February, people sheltered inside when three fierce storms hit the UK in just one week. In August, experts announced that England was officially in a drought. And in December, an unusual cold spell meant that snow fell weeks before Christmas.

Scientists say that the heat waves and unpredictable weather is due to climate change caused by humans. Now, many are asking if it is too late to stop climate change from happening.

We cannot turn back the clock and stop the changes to the environment that have already happened. But experts
agree that what we do now can change what happens in the future. Every step to stop releasing greenhouse gases into the air will help to slow down global warming.