The Beast from the East ravaged much of the UK and Europe in February and March 2018, bringing severe storms, snow showers and bitter winds. But as the climate changes, rising average temperatures will affect the severity of extremely cold weather like this.

In our latest study, my colleagues and I have considered how cold spells – defined as extended periods of extremely low temperatures between November and March – have changed since 1980.

We found that cold spells such as the Beast from the East are becoming less frequent and intense across the northern hemisphere. We also found that certain regions are experiencing less persistent cold spells, or more localised cold spells.

Across the entire northern hemisphere, cold spell days have decreased by about 20 days per decade. In Europe, regional cold spells are declining in frequency by nearly one day........

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