Past decade UK's second hottest in last century

ANKARA

The past decade saw the second warmest temperatures in the last century in the U.K., as the country's climate is getting warmer, the U.K.'s Met Office announced Friday.

"The 2010s have been the second warmest and second wettest of the 'cardinal' decades (those spanning years ending 0-9) over the last 100 years of UK weather records," the agency said in a statement.

The last decade currently holds eight high temperature records, it said.

"Witnessing the highest U.K. temperature for the months of February, July, and provisionally December, 2019 was a year of multiple records, concluding a record-breaking decade," it added.

The U.K. experienced the warmest February day on record, with a temperature of 20.6 degrees (69 F) while the hottest July with a temperature of 38.1 degrees (100.5 F) was recorded July 25. In the last month of 2019, the U.K, has its warmest December ever with the temperature topping 18.7 (65.6) degrees.

In 2019, it was warmer, wetter, and sunnier than average and the statement stressed it was the eleventh warmest year on record with an average increase of 9.42 Celsius degrees.

"It is notable how many of these extreme records have been set in the most recent decade and how many more of them are reflecting high-rather than low-temperature extremes: a consequence of our warming climate," said Mark McCarthy, head of the National Climate Information Centre.

The country's hottest year on record was 2014, according to the U.K. Met department.