Met Office

The latest #StateofClimate2023 report confirms 2023 was a record year for a range of climate indicators. The report, published today by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, charts the progress of climate change through analysis of earth observations. Co-ordinated by NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information the report is based on contributions from over 590 scientists, including from the Met Office. Dr Robert Dunn, Met Office Climate Scientist, is one of the report’s authors and editors. He said: “2023 will linger long in the memory of the climate record. Heat from the tropical Pacific courtesy of a strong El Niño event imparted warmth to the planet’s atmosphere ensuring that 2023 was going to be a warm year. We have had El Niño events before, but last year was notable as the El Niño coincided with other events, such as the North Atlantic marine heatwave and the all-time low for Antarctic sea ice extent.” Read the key findings in our news release: https://lnkd.in/eAWAbStN State of the Climate in 2023 report: https://lnkd.in/gxkv2Sb

Storm Lilian has been named, with strong winds and heavy rain likely for many in the north on Friday morning. Lilian is the twelfth named storm of this storm naming season and is the furthest through the list of names the Western European storm naming group has got since storm naming was introduced in 2015: https://lnkd.in/gwV4T_Uu Read more in our news release: https://lnkd.in/epNqMRii

It’s the star at the heart of our solar system, is about 100 times wider than Earth, and holds everything together. But have you considered the vast impact of the Sun? ☀ We’re proud to be hosting part of the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration International Space Apps Challenge once again. This year's event is on the theme of ‘The Sun Touches Everything’, highlighting how the Sun’s presence reaches every community around the globe 🌍 Participants will be able to connect with fellow attendees, learn new programs, gain knowledge, and explore innovative approaches to new and existing problems using NASA’s data. Our event takes place on 5-6 October. It's free to attend, with meals, snacks and drinks provided throughout the weekend at no charge. Free childcare is also available on-site for those who want to attend with young children 👨👧👦 It's been run by Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence - a partnership between the Met Office and the University of Exeter, and Tech Exeter. You can find out more and sign up now ⤵ https://lnkd.in/ed5MMjrd #SpaceApps #SpaceAppsExeter #NASA

It’s 20 years since a devastating flood swept through the small Cornish village of Boscastle. A month’s worth of rain fell in just two hours, causing two rivers to burst their banks and about two billion litres of water to rush straight into the village. Whilst rainfall was in the forecast that day, the intensity of that rainfall and its impact on the village was not predicted, meaning residents had little time to react. But would things be different if this happened today? In our latest blog post, the Met Office’s Professor Brian Golding says we would be ‘much better prepared today’ than we were in 2004. https://lnkd.in/esnNbn8v

Between March 2023 to February 2024 around 8.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were released because of global wildfires, says a new annual study. This is 16% above the average. Record breaking fires in Canada, western Amazonia, Chile, Greece and Hawaii added to the total. The Met Office’s Chantelle Burton is a global wildfire expert and author of the report. She said: “The intensity and frequency of wildfires are increasing globally because of climate change. This is causing devastating impacts of society, the environment and biodiversity.” The greater release of carbon was also due to fire-affected forests holding dense carbon stocks being more widespread than usual.  The report is co-led: Met Office; University of East Anglia; European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehmmpGgU

Machine learning could help to produce more accurate, more detailed urban heat forecasts, according to new research led by the Met Office. As part of the research, which was supported by University of Reading, machine learning was informed by citizen observations, land cover data and the Met Office’s operational forecast to predict urban heat at a hyper local level. The method was found to improve accuracy of the temperature forecast by around 11%, at a resolution that is 225x more detailed than standard Met Office operational forecasts. Lead author and Met Office urban modelling expert Lewis Blunn said: “We can already observe an increase in extreme heat events in the UK and the greatest impacts are often felt in cities. “In a warming world, machine learning can be used to better understand impacts on communities at a much finer scale and could increase resilience and ultimately save lives.” Read the release in full ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eHZDHHXv

Have you ever wondered what its like to work in tech at the Met Office? Read about Mathew Gard's experience working in his role as a Lead Tech Architect in the Public, Hazards & Resilience team: https://lnkd.in/eWF5-5fS You can also explore our current vacancies in tech on our website: https://lnkd.in/eFauTFZP

At the Met Office, we are committed to being an inclusive employer, and providing equal opportunities to everyone.   Recently, we have had a cohort of interns from the cross-government Autism Exchange Internship Programme, giving young autistic people the chance to experience the workplace and gain valuable skills.   Here's what one of our most recent interns had to say about her time with us 👇

It was great to welcome Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Prof Dame Angela McLean to Met Office HQ last week. Prof Dame Angela McLean, along with some of her other colleagues from Government Office for Science, spent the day with us discussing our role providing evidence and expertise to cross-government efforts in the emerging area of climate security, as well as other areas of climate science. In the coming months, we will be working closely with the Government Office for Science to explore how we can work together to further our joint efforts to make the UK more resilient to the changing climate in the future.

How much information do customers want from a weather forecast? We will soon be giving customers the forecast that best suits their needs by using more of the available information to create more accurate and a more useful forecast that enables better decisions to be made. Providing different possibilities for the weather forecast uses a method known as ensemble forecasting. Ensemble forecasting helps users to assess the risks associated with the forecast. Discover more with our ensemble forecasting expert Ken Mylne in our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/eGZ2JXV5