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UK rains broke river flow record and climate change is to blame



More water flowed out of UK rivers into the ocean during one day last month than ever before.

As Storm Desmond drenched northern England on 5 December, rivers across the country discharged a third more water than the previous maximum, according to new data released by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).

The news comes a day after a study found that unusually high rainfall was made between 50 and 75 per cent more likely by climate change.

Three major storms – Desmond, Eva and Frank – tracked across Britain during December, creating what CEH called “extraordinary” hydrological conditions. They were largely responsible for the country’s wettest month since records began in 1910.

On Honiston Pass in Cumbria, Desmond delivered more rain in 24 hours than ever previously seen anywhere in the country – 34.1 centimetres. As a result, many large river catchments in northern Britain recorded their highest every peak flows, says Jamie Hannaford, who heads hydrology monitoring at the CEH.

Throughout December, several major rivers exceeded previous record flows. The peak records flows on the Tyne, Lune and Eden during Storm Desmond, each at around 1700 cubic metres a second, were the three highest flows ever recorded on rivers in England and Wales, and more than 30 times the rivers’ respective average flows, says the CEH. As these and other rivers breached their banks, some 16,000 properties flooded.