Met Office abandons long-term forecasts
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.First it promised a "barbecue summer" that brought little but rain. Then came the "mild winter" which turned out to be one of the coldest in 31 years. Now the Met Office is simply scrapping its long-term seasonal forecasts.
In what will widely be seen as an embarrassing climbdown, the Devon-based weather centre insisted the move came in response to public polling. "Our research suggests the public aren't interested in seasonal forecasts but they do want monthly forecasts," a spokeswoman insisted. The hotel owners and UK businesses that were left bruised by the lack of promised sunshine last summer may not accept this line as easily.
September's disastrous winter prediction – in which the Met Office claimed that there was a one in seven chance of a cold December to February – will be its final seasonal forecast.
It will be replaced from April with a monthly outlook that will be updated on a weekly basis. The Met Office insisted that the UK was a "temperate climate" which made it "very hard to forecast much beyond a week". It promised to continue working on long-range forecasting, which, rather than being intended for public consumption, is usually provided to help businesses plan ahead.
Last month it emerged that the Met Office may be dropped by the BBC after nearly 90 years following complaints about its forecasts. The Met Office's contract comes up for renewal in April.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments