The Met Office and climate scientists say that extreme weather events, including heatwaves, intense rainfall and storms, have become the "new normal" for the UK, rather than rare anomalies. This reflects a broader shift in how meteorologists and officials are framing the country's changing climate, with implications for how infrastructure, public health advice and emergency planning need to adapt to more frequent and severe conditions.

The report, part of the BBC's ongoing coverage of severe weather and heatwaves, highlights how patterns once considered unusual, such as prolonged heat spells and heavy downpours, are now recurring more regularly across the UK. It underscores warnings from climate and weather experts that the country should prepare for such conditions to continue rather than treating them as one-off events.