Met Office Hadley Centre Marks 30 Years

Over the past 30 years, the Met Office Hadley Centre has developed a world-leading capability for developing and applying climate science to address societal needs. Pioneering research carried out with global partners and end-users has meant our scientists have been at the forefront of understanding how to manage climate risk effectively. Find out more about the history of the Met Office Hadley Centre in this paper published in Weather (Folland et al. 2004).  

First opened on Monday 25 May 1990 by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the Met Office Hadley Centre. To mark the anniversary date, Met Office Hadley Centre Director Professor Albert Klein Tank shared a series of blog posts – one reflecting on the first three decades of our history and a second looking ahead to the future - and an article was published in The Guardian. 

Throughout the rest of the year, the anniversary will be recognised through a series of blog posts and videos from colleagues, fact sharing on social media and insights from partners. These will look back on the past 30 years, current research, and forward looking to the next 30 years. 

Looking to the future, Chief Scientist Professor Stephen Belcher shared how the Met Office’s Research and Innovation Strategy will enable us to develop new services to address the challenges of our changing world. 

Hear from Met Office Hadley Centre colleagues in this video playlist:

 

Recent Met Office Hadley Centre work includes: 

New report on the state of global climate in 2019

In August 2020, a report on the state of the global climate for 2019 was published, revealling further evidence of climate change. The 30th edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) is a peer-reviewed report with contributions from climate scientists around the world, including from the Met Office. Find out more here.

State of the UK Climate 2019 Report

In July 2020 the annual State of the UK Climate report was published, which provides the latest assessment of the UK climate. It was published as aspecial issue of the International Journal of Climatology, which is the Royal Meteorological Society journal of climate science. Find out more here.

Prolonged Siberian heat attributed to climate change

The recent prolonged Siberia heat from January to June 2020 would have been almost impossible without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to a rapid attribution analysis by a team of leading climate scientists. Read more in our news release here.

More extreme weather events with planetary warming 

In July, new research from an international team of scientists from 39 different institutions – led by the Met Office – reveals changes to intensity, frequency and duration of extreme weather events as the world warms. Read more here. 

Chances of 40°C days in the UK increasing 

A new study by Met Office Hadley Centre scientists published in June has found that the chances of extreme high temperatures in parts of the UK could increase significantly by the end of the century. The research paper has been published in the journal Nature Communications. Read more in our news release. 

How do we make society more climate resilient? 

An open access paper produced with the World Meteorological Organisation, Climate Society, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, World Bank Climate and others described progress made over the past 10 years and proposed new potential directions to address new challenges. Find out more here. 

COVID-19 and climate impacts 

Met Office Hadley Centre scientists worked with Scripps Institution of Oceanography to understand the potential impacts COVID-19 on global emissions in May 2020. Findings showed that the drop in global emissions following the coronavirus pandemic will slightly slow the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere this year, but not enough to impact the ongoing rise in global temperatures. Read more in our blog, and an article in Carbon Brief. 

Loss of Arctic Sea Ice 

A new study emerged in April 2020 involving an international team of scientists, led by the University of Hamburg and including the Met Office Hadley Centre, which showed the potential for significant further stress on summer sea-ice in the Arctic. Findings included potential for ice-free summers before 2050, almost completely irrespective of the future scenario of greenhouse gas emissions. Read more here. 

Overview of the 2019/2020 winter season 

In a guest post for Carbon Brief, Ayesha Tandon and Annie Schultz from the Met Office Hadley Centre Knowledge Integration team reviewed the exceptionally wet and warm winter of 2019-2020. Read more about their insights here.