January downpour worst in 250 years

Guardian News and Media/London

The deluge that has engulfed southern and central England in recent weeks is the worst winter downpour in almost 250 years, according to figures from the world’s longest-running weather station.

The rainfall measured at the historic Radcliffe Meteorological Station at Oxford University in January was greater than for any winter month since daily recording began there in 1767, and three times the average amount. The latest Met Office data shows that the region from Devon to Kent and up into the Midlands suffered its wettest January since its records began in 1910.

But Ian Ashpole, the Radcliffe Meteorological Observer, said: “The Radcliffe measurements more than double the length of the Met Office record and give us a better grip on how things are changing.”

Flooding has been identified as the most dangerous impact of climate change for the UK and is hitting harder and faster than expected, according to scientists.

Thousands of homes have been flooded since December, and much of the low-lying Somerset Levels remains under water.

Ashpole said: “The figures here are pretty representative of the broader area as all the weather stations in the region have been recording very high rainfall and the rain fronts have been coming in over broad areas.”

Oxford’s Radcliffe Observatory was founded to assist astronomers, but while the telescopes have now gone, the weather station has continued its work and now has one of the longest-running series of daily measurements in the world. A total of 146.9mm of rain fell in January, smashing the previous record of 138.7mm in 1852.