Met Office's 2050 Summer Heatwave Prediction Looks Scarily Similar To Next Tuesday's Forecast
The Met Office's 2050 weather forecast is scarily similar to the one expected next week.
That's right, as the UK braces for some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded (up to 40C in some areas), eagle-eyed Twitter users have noticed something pretty unsettling.
You see, back in 2020, the Met Office made a mock-up weather forecast for 2050 - the map was covered in varying degrees of red as the weather man explained that temperatures for much of the country would be in the upper 30s, with some areas reaching 40C.
⚠️⚠️🔴 Red Extreme heat warning issued 🔴⚠️⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 15, 2022
Parts of England on Monday and Tuesday
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMg9c70
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/YHaYvaGh95
And it seems that their prediction might be coming true, 28 years too early.
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As Twitter user Dr. Simon Lee noted: "In 2020, the @metoffice produced a hypothetical weather forecast for 23 July 2050 based on UK climate projections. Today, the forecast for Tuesday is shockingly almost identical for large parts of the country."
And he's not far off. Just today the Met Office issued an extremely rare red heat warning for England between Monday (18 July) and Tuesday (19 July) next week.
In 2020, the @metoffice produced a hypothetical weather forecast for 23 July 2050 based on UK climate projections.
— Dr Simon Lee (@SimonLeeWx) July 15, 2022
Today, the forecast for Tuesday is shockingly almost identical for large parts of the country. pic.twitter.com/U5hQhZwoTi
It's a warning most Brits aren't used to, as the weather experts warn of 'population-wide adverse health effects' and a 'high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment'.
This warning includes potential power cuts and loss of other vital services such as water.
As large parts of England are about to be bombarded with 'exceptional heat', what does it actually mean if these temperatures arrive a few decades earlier than first thought?
Well, the Met Office says the record-breaking heat is down to climate change but Dr. Lee clarified that it's (hopefully) a one-off, rather than a typical forecast that we can expect with any regularity.
He reassures us: "To clarify: I don't think you can interpret this as climate change occurring 'faster than anticipated'. Climate models have shown that 40C is possible in the UK in the current climate, just very rare. My point is that what is coming on Tuesday gives an insight into the future."
He goes on to explain that: "In the present climate, 40C represents a new extreme, which is becoming more likely due to climate change. Both the 2050 and 2022 forecasts are showing extreme events, but 40C in the 2050 forecast is less extreme than the 40C in 2022."
Still, that's ridiculously hot, and given that the UK feels like the back of an old box TV right now, we'd urge everyone to start recycling.
Shola Lee