Scottish summers set to keep getting warmer, study shows
Cold, wet summers could become a thing of the past in Scotland, according to a new study. Researchers from Edinburgh and Oxford universities and the Met Office, the UK’s official weather service, say that summer temperatures of 30°C could become common in the future because of climate change.
Climate change is long-term changes in the world’s weather patterns, including rising temperatures. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), farming and cutting down forests are a major cause of changing weather patterns around the world. When fossil fuels are burned, for example, they release gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These gases are called greenhouse gases. Their emissions contribute to climate change.
People experienced hot and dry conditions during a heatwave in the summer of 2018. The team found that climate change would lead to those conditions becoming more frequent in Scotland. Lead researcher Professor Simon Tett, from Edinburgh University, said that carbon dioxide emissions had to be cut around the world in order to prevent this from getting worse.
The study also looked into the direct effects of the unusual weather in 2018 on people, animals and landscapes in Scotland. Among these were a thirty per cent increase in demand for water, an increase in harmful insects such as flies and mosquitoes, and a fall in the amount of peas, potatoes, carrots and onions that were harvested. The populations of some types of birds declined because of a lack of water. There was also disturbance to trains because rails were bent by the heat.
Tett explained, “Despite its cool climate, Scotland must start to prepare now for the impact of high temperature extremes. The bottom line is that heatwaves have become more likely because of the climate change caused by human activities.”
