Britain is entering into 'scary' uncharted waters as a second heatwave this year sweeps the country, the UK's chief meteorologist has warned.
Met Office boss Paul Davies says that 35C heatwaves such as the current one could now occur once every five years and annually by the end of the century, while the record-breaking 40C experienced last month, which caused widespread fires and travel disruption, could hit the UK every three years in 77 years.
“That’s a staggering number,” Mr Davies, a world-leading expert in meteorology, told The Mirror. “When I started out as a forecaster, if someone had said in your lifetime you’ll see 40 degrees, I’d have said; ‘No, surely not!’. We are in uncharted waters. We’re entering areas we’ve never experienced before and it’s not just the UK, it’s the planet as a whole.”
