Scottish Climate Update - December 2009
11 January 2010
One of a series of Climate Updates from WWF Scotland based on data from the Met Office.
DECEMBER 2009
TOP LINE:
• December 2009 was the coldest December since 1981 and the 3rd coldest ever recorded.
• 2009 was the 13th warmest and the 4th sunniest ever recorded for Scotland
• 2009 contained the wettest November, the 3rd wettest August, the 3rd warmest April and the 3rd sunniest January ever recorded in Scotland.
• 11 of the 12 months of 2009 were warmer than average
• The summer of 2009 was the 4th wettest summer ever, following 1985, 1948 and 1956.
• This decade was the warmest ever, half a degree warmer than the average for the 1990s, which was the next warmest
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland said:
“Despite the December chill 2009 was the 13th warmest year ever recorded, with every month but December warmer than average. It was also the 4th sunniest year. The Met Office is already predicting that next year could be the hottest ever across the globe.
“The arctic air that has chilled us since early December was a cool blip against a background of steadily increasing temperatures. No doubt we will see the occasional harsh winter month in future but they will become increasingly rare.
“While December was a reminder of winters past, from the Borders to the North East many parts of Scotland saw big floods during the year, a clear taste of our future, warmer and wetter climate.
“2009 was a crucial year for climate change with the world-leading Scottish Climate Change Act passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament but world leaders failing to agree a new international climate deal in Copenhagen. During 2010 the Scottish Government must continue its work to ensure we meet the 42 per cent cut in emissions by 2020 as set out in the Act."
THE YEAR SO FAR
2009 was the 13th warmest year ever recorded in Scotland, it was also the 12th wettest and the 4th sunniest.
December was the 3rd coldest on record, following 1981 and 1950. November was the wettest November ever recorded. October was a degree warmer than usual. It had average rainfall across Scotland but the North East was 50% wetter than usual. September was more than a degree warmer than the average. The month had lower than average rainfall but this conceals very heavy rain early in the month which caused floods in Elgin, Aberdeenshire and the Borders. 123.6mm (5 inches) of rain over 24 hours was recorded at Fochabers. August was the 3rd wettest August ever recorded and the joint wettest ever (with August 1985) in the west of Scotland. The average temperature was more than 0.5°C above the long-term average. The summer of 2009 was the 4th wettest summer ever, following 1985, 1948 and 1956. July was the 5th wettest July in the east of Scotland.
June 2009 was the 6th sunniest June ever recorded and finished with a very warm spell. May 2009 was the 6th wettest and 4th sunniest May ever recorded, and it was also the 9th sunniest month ever recorded, as well as being 0.6°C warmer than average. April was the 3rd warmest April in the records which go back to 1914 and it was also sunnier than average. March was the 5th sunniest ever recorded and a full degree warmer than the long-term average. The east of Scotland was 1.6° warmer than the average. The start of February was cold but temperatures picked up to allow the month to finish with an average temperature above the long-term average. January was the 3rd sunniest January in Scotland according to the records which began in 1929. Although it was cooler than in recent years it was still 0.1°C warmer than the long-term average.
