Although we may tend to picture the UK as perennially damp and rainy, dear old Blighty is no stranger to drought. Indeed an extended dry spell is currently underway, prompting some to cast their minds back to the Great Drought of 1976. And, needless to say, global warming is the culprit. Even the Red Cross says so. Which is precisely what climate science predicted. In a 2010 study in the Journal of Hydrology, a team of scientists from the UK Met Office ran their models and sure enough, “All drought indices show an overall increase in drought in the future. However, the spread of values is considerable ranging from little change or a slight decrease to a significant increase depending on ensemble member and, to a smaller extent, location.” So notwithstanding a bit of uncertainty the matter is settled, the UK will be getting either a little or a lot dryer. Unless, that is, it gets wetter. Which might happen because with climate change you get to #HaveItBothWays.

The 2010 study came three years after a 2007 study, also by UK scientists, which also involved running climate models to see how temperature and precipitation would change in the UK over the 21st century. That study projected a slight decrease in rainfall over the summer months. But the rest of the year is projected to get wetter, and in the winter much wetter. So overall there will be more rainfall on the UK. Assuming there isn’t less.

Whether the UK gets wetter or drier in the future, you can rest assured that climate science predicted it and you’re to blame either way.