King Charles’ reign has been soggiest period in recorded history, says boffin
KING Charles waves to well-wishers yesterday as it emerged his reign so far is the soggiest on record.
The 18 months since he succeeded Queen Elizabeth have been England’s wettest since 1836, according to Prof Ed Hawkins of Reading University.
He warned: “Winters have been getting steadily wetter over the last century, and the past 18 months have been the wettest on record for England.
“Coincidentally, this has been the exact 18 months since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.”
“The atmosphere is warmer now than a century ago, and so has more water in it.
“This means when you get really heavy downpours there’s more water to come out. So, when it rains, it rains more.”
He added: “Although we can still expect to get some dry periods, the overall trend under King Charles is likely to be towards us having more rain.”
“The accepted wisdom is the UK is getting wetter winters and slightly drier summers – and that’s what we are seeing in the South – but we are probably seeing slightly wetter summers in the North.”
Charles, 75, who is undergoing cancer treatment, smiled today as he was driven from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, where he met Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland.
He became king when his mother died on September 8, 2022.
Charles is the oldest person to accede to the throne in British history, being 73 at the time.