Britain's Autumn Was Warmest on Record
Date: 04-Dec-06
Country: UK
"If you look at 2006 as a whole and look at the record-breaking autumn, the record-breaking July and September, the warmest ever May-to-September period -- all of those things support the notion this is climate change beginning to take effect," said a Met Office spokesman.
The average temperature across Britain between September and November was 11.3 degrees Celsius (52.3F), a 0.8 degree increase on 2001 and the highest since national records began in 1914.
In Wales it was the hottest autumn since 1959, while in central England it was the warmest since records began in 1659.
Central England's autumn average was 12.6 C, well above the previous record of 11.8 measured in 1731.
September this year was the warmest since 1949 while July was also the hottest on record as Britain sweltered in a summer heatwave.
Such heatwaves occur in Britain approximately every 20 years but Met Office scientists say that rising carbon dioxide levels mean that by 2100 they are likely to occur almost every year, and even several times each summer.