Warmest autumn on record - confirmed
1 December 2006
The Met Office confirms that the autumn 2006 has been the warmest in the last 347 years across central parts of the UK.
Central England Temperature records dating back to 1659 are the longest instrumental temperature records in the world, and autumn 2006 has been warmer than any equivalent autumn since then. The provisional mean temperature this year was 12.6 °C. The previous highest figure for the equivalent period was 11.8 °C, recorded in 1730 and 1731.
The provisional UK-wide mean temperature for autumn was 11.3 °C, beating the previous record set in 2001 of 10.5 °C, in a temperature series that began in 1914.
| Details of the UK figures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
2006 mean autumn temperature
|
Previous record
|
Year of previous record
|
|
| UK |
11.3
|
10.5
|
2001
|
| England |
12.4
|
11.3
|
2005
|
| Northern Ireland |
10.8
|
10.7
|
2001
|
| Scotland |
9.8
|
9.2
|
2001
|
| Wales |
11.4
|
10.9
|
1959
|
The current Met Office winter forecast indicates a continuation of the mild theme, with a higher probability of above average temperatures during the combined December, January and February period.
| For further information: |
| Met Office Press Office +44 (0)1392 886655 |
| E-mail: pressoffice@metoffice.gov.uk |
| Met Office Customer Centre 0870 900 0100 |
| If you're outside the UK +44 (0)1392 885680 |
