Last year was provisionally the second warmest on record for the UK since records began in 1884, the Met Office has said.Only 2022, which saw temperatures exceed 40C for the first time in recorded history, was hotter.Wales and Northern Ireland had their warmest years, with the Met Office saying climate change has made these benchmarks "significantly more likely".Provisional figures show 2023 had an average mean temperature of 9.97C, just behind 2022's figure of 10.03C and ahead of 2014's figure

Last year was provisionally the second warmest on record for the UK since records began in 1884, the Met Office has said.Only 2022, which saw temperatures exceed 40C for the first time in recorded history, was hotter.Wales and Northern Ireland had their warmest years, with the Met Office saying climate change has made these benchmarks "significantly more likely".Provisional figures show 2023 had an average mean temperature of 9.97C, just behind 2022's figure of 10.03C and ahead of 2014's figure of 9.88C.Last year also ranked the second warmest for the Central England Temperature, the world's longest instrumental temperature series from 1659.Met Office senior scientist Mike Kendon said: "The observations of the UK climate are clear. Climate change is influencing UK temperature records over the long term, with 2023 going down as another very warm year and the second warmest on record.