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Large parts of the UK are experiencing relentless rainfall, with some places seeing rain for 41 consecutive days and counting. In Reading, in the south east of England, our university\u2019s official rain gauge has recorded precipitation on 31 consecutive days<\/a> \u2013 unprecedented in records stretching all the way back to 1908.<\/p>\n The pattern has not just made 2026 a bit dreary. It also reveals one way in which climate change is making the already naturally variable (some would say gloriously variable) British weather increasingly extreme.<\/p>\n In those 31 days, Reading has received 141mm of rain, compared to the 30-year average over that period of just 58mm \u2013 well over twice what we would expect at the time of year.<\/p>\n Higher than average rainfall totals are expected, well, half of the time. This is just how median averages work. But it\u2019s the nature of this current weather pattern that is so unusual, and is in keeping with the type of wetter winter situation for UK weather<\/a> that climate scientists have been warning us to expect \u2013 even if we are still only just learning why<\/a> exactly this is happening on a regional level.<\/p>\n Over the full breadth of a British year, the bigger picture is even more revealing. Last year, the UK was grappling with one of the hottest and driest summers on record. A succession of hot spells, combined with long periods that saw less than average rainfall, meant water supplies dwindled and widespread hosepipe bans were put in place.<\/p>\n As a whole, 2025 from spring onwards was exceptionally dry<\/a>. Fast forward to the new year, and we\u2019re facing the opposite \u2013 weeks of rainfall and flooding. These extremes<\/a> are what we expect to see in this part of the world, as heat builds up in the global atmosphere and oceans. For British people, this is what climate change right now feels like.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”32421″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n What is causing this link between a warmer planet and wetter British winters? One fundamental link is in basic physics of the atmosphere as temperatures rise. Warmer air can hold more moisture \u2013 about 7% more for every one degree celsius of warming<\/a>. This means that when it rains, on average it rains harder. Bigger, heavier downpours become more common.<\/p>\n Climate change is also disrupting the patterns of currents and cycles<\/a> within the atmosphere and oceans that bring the UK much of its weather. As an island archipelago on the edge of three competing climate masses \u2013 the wet, mild Atlantic, the cold, dry Arctic, and the wildly variable temperatures of the Eurasian landmass \u2013 it is used to variability.<\/p>\n But one constant feature plays an oversized role in the type of weather we get: the jet stream \u2013 a ribbon of fast-flowing air high in the atmosphere. The position of the jet stream makes a big difference. Sometimes it flows to the north of Scotland, sometimes it is hundreds of miles further south towards Spain. This location matters, because the jet stream helps to blow whole weather systems \u2013 think of a big \u201cbubble\u201d of air carrying its own weather with it \u2013 from the Atlantic towards the UK.<\/p>\n Currently, the jet stream is positioned further south than typical for the time of year, steering consecutive wet and often windy weather systems directly towards the UK. At the same time, a high pressure system is sitting over parts of northern Europe, blocking the wet weather from moving further east.<\/p>\n Feel like the rain hasn\u2019t stopped? \u2614<\/p>\n For some places, it really hasn\u2019t! \ud83d\ude26<\/p>\n North Wyke, Cardinham and Astwood Bank have recorded rain every single day so far this year \ud83c\udf27\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/q8DchNZQjB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Met Office (@metoffice) February 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nMore rain, more intense rain<\/h2>\n
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