Communicating changes in the intensity of UK heatwaves

Communicating how people are already affected by climate change is challenging, partly because global warming of ‘just’ 1°C does not necessarily sound like a problem. However, the hottest UK summer days have warmed more than 3 times faster than the rate of global warming in the past century. Using a simple observation‐based approach, we estimate that for the hottest UK day on record, when temperatures reached 40°C in 2022, a comparable day a century ago would have peaked around 36°C. Similarly, several historical days would now reach 40°C if comparable events reoccurred, offering novel opportunities to communicate risks from ongoing global warming.