making the jet stream more erratic

Why is the UK so rainy this year and how is the climate crisis making matters worse?

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/09/why-is-the-uk-so-rainy-this-year-and-how-is-the-climate-crisis-making-matters-worse

Flood water covering Worcester racecourse on Monday. Astwood Bank in Worcester has recorded rain every day of the year so far. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

It has rained in parts of the country every day of the year so far and downpours are expected to continue this week

In a “miserable and relentlessly wet” start to the year, rain has fallen somewhere in the UK every single day for weeks on end.

With more than 100 flood warnings in force across the country and further downpours forecast this week, scientists say the atmospheric forces behind Britain’s endless drizzle are the same ones driving devastating floods across Spain and Portugal.

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Is the climate crisis making rainfall worse?

Scientists think fossil fuel pollution is making the jet stream more erratic, allowing extreme weather systems – from heavy rain to heat domes – to become stuck over the same areas for prolonged periods, amplifying their impacts. These so-called blocking systems are expected to become more frequent under medium- and worst-case emissions scenarios.

At the same time, global heating is intensifying rainfall. Warmer air can hold about 7% more moisture for every 1C rise in temperature, a shift that has contributed to increasingly wet UK winters arriving roughly two decades earlier than regional climate models had predicted. In January, however, Arctic air led to slightly cooler temperatures than usual, with high monthly rainfall totals more a result of persistence and duration than intensity.

Scientists project climate breakdown will bring wetter winters and drier summers to the UK. Neumann said: “One positive to come from the recent rainfall is the move to recovery status for UK water resources.” She added that England is now free from drought for the first time since May, with reservoirs and aquifers slowly restocking and recharging to healthy levels.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/09/why-is-the-uk-so-rainy-this-year-and-how-is-the-climate-crisis-making-matters-worse

dizzy: The rich have destroyed the climate for profit despite fossil fuel industries knowing the consequences of their actions for 70 years or so. Donald Trump is further accelerating that destruction.

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Misery for many as rain falls for 40 days in some parts of UK

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