2022 was the hottest year on record for Cumbria, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.

The figures say that the mean temperature in Cumbria from 1 January to 27 December was 9.35C, which is 0.91C above the 1991-2020 average. This beat the previous hottest year on record for Cumbria, which was 2014 with 9.25C. 

It falls in line with the rest of the UK, which the Met Office says will be the warmest year on record. Every month was hotter than average, apart from December which was cooler due to a week-long cold snap. 

The Met Office worked on a tool with the BBC to determine what temperatures could look like in the future in Cumbria.

READ MORE: Met Office indicates Furness and Lakes are drier than average

In the 30 years from 1991 to 2019 near a Kendal postcode, the hottest day was 30.3C. If global average temperatures increase by 2C pre-industrial levels, the hottest day could be 32.1C. If it rises by 4C, it could be 36.7C. 

From 1991 to 2019, 58mm of rain fell on the wettest day. At a 2C rise, this could be 66mm, and at a 4C rise, it could be about 70mm which is 21 per cent more than now. 

Dr Mark McCarthy, a senior climate scientist at the Met Office said: "2022 is going to be the warmest year on record for the UK. While many will remember the summer’s extreme heat, what has been noteworthy this year has been the relatively consistent heat through the year, with every month except December being warmer than average.  

“The warm year is in line with the genuine impacts we expect as a result of human-induced climate change. Although it doesn’t mean every year will be the warmest on record, climate change continues to increase the chances of increasingly warm years over the coming decades.” 

He continued: "Temperatures have been above the 1991-2020 long-term average for a large proportion of the year, and this is something that we can anticipate as we become increasingly affected by climate change.

"We have seen in the first two weeks of December, our climate is still subject to notable cold spells during the winter season, but our observational data show these have generally become less frequent and less severe as our climate warms.”