Met Office - Drier European Summers predicted

"A new study from the Met Office Hadley Centre assessed how human-induced climate change has influenced the trend of wet and dry summers in Europe and looked at water availability and rainfall across north and south Europe by the end of the century.

Published in Science Bulletin, the results provide insight as to how communities will need to adapt as they prepare to see deficits in water availability and heatwave-related droughts.

Dr Christidis explains “We are expecting to see significant changes in European summers as a result of human-induced climate change. Summers may become a lot drier and this shift is expected to become more prominent as we move through the century.”

The frequency of wet extremes is also projected to increase as we see drier summers. As more water can be held as a gas in the atmosphere, there is an increased risk of heavier rainfall events, challenging local drainage and storage facilities.

This evidence is consistent with the headline findings from the UKCP18 climate projections, taking the overall effect of anthropogenic climate change into account, drier summers are expected in the UK, with more frequent dry extremes. The findings from this research are important to help the UK plan for future extremes, informing effective adaptation and mitigation strategies to limit impacts of climate change on UK society now and in the future. "

Read more in Science Bulletin
Read more at the Met Office website