With the English countryside underwater from some of the worst flooding on record, the British government found that "an increasing body of evidence" ties this type of event to manmade global warming.
Rainfall amounts, storm intensities, wave heights and other extreme weather-related characteristics have been at or near record levels, according to a UK Met Office report released on Sunday. December and January were among the most “exceptionally wet” two-month periods on record in England and Wales, dating back at least 248 years.
See also: Parts of England Underwater After Thames Burst Banks
The high flow rates of the Thames River, which courses through downtown London, have lasted longer than any previous flood since 1883. In fact, the massive Thames flood barrier has been raised 13 times since December in order to prevent widespread flooding in London and other areas, although it's not saving many downstream communities from flood damage.
According to BBC News, the UK Environment Agency issued a record number of severe flood warnings, indicating a life-threatening situation. The agency also said many areas received more than double their average rainfall.
The relentless storms that have soaked the UK since December fit with recent research showing that storms in this area have grown stronger in recent years. Extreme rainfall events have become more common, due at least in part to manmade global warming.
“Recent studies suggest an increase in the intensity of Atlantic storms that take a more southerly track, typical of this winter’s extreme weather,” the report said. “There is no evidence to counter the basic premise that a warmer world will lead to more intense daily and hourly heavy rainfall events.”
Perhaps the most interesting piece of the report — for weather geeks, that is — explains why the UK has faced one storm after another for the past two months. It all comes back to events that occurred more than 7,000 miles away. The storms originated in the Pacific Ocean and spun their way eastward on the back of the jet stream, which is a high altitude corridor of strong winds that steers weather systems and helps energize them.
In the tropical Western Pacific, near Indonesia, unusually warm sea surface temperatures have led to above-average rainfall for much of the winter. This added heat to the atmosphere and altered the shape of the jet stream as it moved from west to east across the Northern Hemisphere. A huge northward shift in the jet stream, also known as a “ridge," resulted in the ongoing California drought, while also routing storms eastward.
The near-term forecast for both the U.S. and the UK doesn't offer much hope of clearer skies, with the possibility of two major winter storms in the eastern U.S., and the Met Office predicted more rain during the rest of the week.
The Met Office said more comprehensive studies using sophisticated computer models need to be undertaken before it could say anything more definitive about the link between global warming and the recent storms. Such models have only recently become advanced enough to capture events taking place on the local level, such as on the scale of a city.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
2012 was the hottest year, ever, in the United States. More than half of the continental U.S. experienced drought, which dehydrated crops and sparked wildfires across the country.
Photo via Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Storms and floods swept the UK, and Britain’s weather service rightfully declared 2012 the wettest year in England.
Photo via Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
China experiences its coldest winter in decades, with temperatures hitting the lowest in 28 years. But a little cold doesn't stop this guy.
Photo via Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images
A series of typhoons, including Typhoon Bopha, pictured above, killed hundreds and left thousands homeless.
Photo via STR/AFP/Getty Images
Temperatures in Eastern Russia reached negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit, freezing this woman's eyebrows. Also, see this video of boiling water freezing instantly in Siberian air.
Photo via AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the U.S.'s east coast and the Caribbean, leaving millions without power, thousands flooded and devastating neighborhoods.
Photo via Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images
A heat wave claimed the lives of 32 people in two days. Temperatures hit 109.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest national temperature since 1915.
Photo via Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southwest Mexico in March. Another rocked Guatemala in November, and Indonesia was hit in December.
Photo via AFP/AFP/Getty Images
In February, Sicily and southern Italy were slammed with snow storms for the first time since World War II. Then in December, tornadoes had their way with the Italian coast.
Photo via Mario Laporta/AFP/Getty Images
People carried their belongings through the flash floods and torrential rains, and more than 400 lives were lost.
Photo via Banaras Khan/AFP/Getty Images
To kick off 2013, Mother Nature hit Jerusalem with a snow storm, the first in 21 years.
Photo via Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Burnt sheep lie in a field ravaged by Australian bush fires this week. Meteorologists reported the country’s hottest spring and summer on record in 2012.
Photo via Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images