Coldest December

 

According to the UK Met Office December 2010 was the coldest in the nation since nationwide records began in 1910. The previous 'record holder' was December 1981. Also it was the second coldest in central England since 1659. It was due to anomalously high air pressure bringing in cold Arctic air.

The funny thing is that this occurs at the same time that global average temperatures are at the highest recorded.

Since the mid 1970s it is evident that global temperatures have been warming at around 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. Anyhow, weather imposes its own dramatic ups and downs over the long term trend. We should expect to see record cold temperatures even during global warming. However over the last decade, daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows. The phenomenon of hotter days should be expected to increase as global warming continues to prevail into the 21st century.