Official news blog

How is the winter weather shaping up?

19 December 2023

As we head towards Christmas there is, as always, a great deal of media and public speculation about what weather we might have in store for the festive season as well as the rest of winter.

Why 1.5°C?

11 December 2023

Since the Paris Agreement at COP21 in December 2015, the 1.5°C target as a limit for global warming is much discussed, but why 1.5°C?

Differing Net Zero definitions must ‘mesh’ say Met Office scientists

23 November 2023

A new paper published in Nature has highlighted a fundamental mismatch in the way greenhouse gas emissions are measured which could mean that Net Zero could be met in one definition up to five years ahead of the other.

Reducing emissions through the Devon Carbon Plan

22 November 2023

In this guest blog post from Devon County Council, they explore how Local Authorities can take action to reduce emissions in their area, and how the Devon Carbon Plan is doing this.

Making sense of climate change projections

21 November 2023

Carbon budgets? Emissions scenarios? Degrees of warming? What does it all mean? If you are following the climate change conversation, you will have encountered information on future changes in climate. Carbon budgets, high- and low-emission scenarios, and future warming are all frequently discussed

Snow or no snow.. what do we know?

20 November 2023

There is a lot of media speculation in the air, but it almost certainly won’t be accompanied by disruptive snow. That is the view of Helen Caughey – a Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster.

Why an ‘exact date’ weather forecast headline isn’t what it seems

15 November 2023

As we move further towards meteorological winter, one thing as predictable as the changing seasons is online news headlines that promise the ‘exact date’ we will see snow in the UK, often weeks in advance. But where do these dates come from and how do you know if they are accurate?