The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has signed a new agreement with the Met Office, setting out how they will work together on meteorological, weather and climate services to support nuclear safety and emergency preparedness.
Building on a strong history of collaboration, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covers areas such as extreme weather and climate projection analysis, and contributions to the Joint Agency Modelling framework for emergency preparedness and response.
It also provides for continued training between both agencies, and, where appropriate, expert advice to ONR's assessments and engagement with external stakeholders.
The MoU will help ensure timely and science-based decision-making within the UK nuclear sector that protects public safety and strengthens national resilience.
Aidan Parkes, one of ONR's Principal Inspectors - Nuclear Safety:
“This MoU strengthens the vital link between weather science and nuclear safety, giving us the timely, high-quality meteorological evidence we need to protect the public and keep the UK's nuclear sites resilient to extreme weather and changing climate conditions."
Simon Marshall, Met Office Business Manager for Energy, said: “Working with the ONR is a crucial pillar in our work with the energy sector, ensuring the latest science can both enhance resilience, but also improve efficiencies across the UK’s energy network.
“Our weather and climate intelligence will help ONR access and apply the latest science on weather, climate and external hazards within its regulatory activities, while ONR’s expertise will help us better understand how this information is interpreted and used to support nuclear safety.”
In 2025, ONR published its Chief Nuclear Inspector’s Themed Inspection on climate change which revealed that the nuclear sector was making progress to ensure climate change effects are understood and mitigated against, with no fundamental shortfalls identified that challenge the industry's robustness against future external hazards.
The report also found that continued work was needed by the nuclear industry to ensure sites remain resilient against the future effects of climate change in the medium and long-term.