Posts
I
have observed that the Guardian reports on climate change very well
but hardly ever reports extreme weather – as if the two are not
connected?
UK
weather: Homes flooded after enormous waves and 65mph winds strike
the South West coast
Towering
waves struck buildings and smashed windows in Cornwall today as
severe weather coincided with a spring high tide.
10
April, 2016
Homes
in the South West were flooded today after enormous waves and 65mph
winds rocked the coast.
The
waves struck buildings and smashed windows in Cornwall as severe
weather coincided with a spring high tide.
The
Ship and Castle Hotel in St Mawes was flooded, while at least three
homes in Penzance were also affected, according to reports.
The
waves also crashed over sea defences in Devon, resulting in a number
of delays on trains out of the region.
Fire
crews were called to deal with flooding, while the Met Office issued
a severe weather warning for the South West.
PCSO Sam Crowther
This
evening, the Environment Agency had 13 flood warnings in place across
Devon and Cornwall, the Plymouth Herald reports.
Read
more: Climber dies on Mount Snowdon after falling from 'knife edge'
ridge
Elsewhere,
parts of Britain were left covered in snow today - while other areas
were bathed in glorious sunshine.
Some
residents in Northumberland found themselves surrounded by deep snow
this morning following overnight blizzards.
And
two people in the region had to be rescued from a car after becoming
stranded by the sea on a tidal causeway.
The
rescue mission took place on the road that leads to the island of
Lindisfarne, that sits around one mile off the Northumberland coast.
The
couple were eventually saved by the coastguard and taken back to dry
land.
Northumbria
Police said they were 'safe and well' and the vehicle would remain on
the causeway until it was safe to return.
Spring
snow? Cumbria's landscape left wintery and frozen after overnight
snowfall
VIDEO
LOADING
Warning
signs at either end of the road urge drivers to check the tide times,
which explain when it is safe to cross each day.
Lindisfarne,
also known as Holy Island, has a population of around 180 people.
Read
more: UK weather: Snow in the north and 65mph winds in Cornwall - but
the sun's out in London
Despite
the poor weather in some regions today, London was drenched in
sunshine, with people in the capital enjoying a lazy Sunday outside.
It
comes just a week after the hottest weekend of the year saw the
mercury push past the 17C (63F) mark.
PASome
residents in Northumberland found themselves surrounded by deep snow
this morningSome residents in Northumberland found themselves
surrounded by deep snow this morning
Forecasters
last week said it could be the end of the month before Brits can
enjoy warm temperatures again.
Warm
southerly air responsible for the brief burst of joy at the start of
April is being shoved away by a bitter plume from the Arctic.
Met
Office forecaster Nicola Maxey said last week: "It is going to
turn wet and windy with temperatures much colder than the beginning
of the week.
"Polar
maritime air will move in while colder air aloft will be brought down
by rain making it feel much colder.
"There
is a chance of wintry showers and hail in the north over high ground
with even some to lower levels.
"It
will stay fairly changeable and will remain fairly cold over into the
weekend and over the next few days."
The
Met Office predicts a grim outlook for the rest of the month with
gales, hill snow and below-average temperatures on the way.
PAForecasters
last week said it could be the end of the month before Brits can
enjoy warm temperatures againForecasters last week said it could be
the end of the month before Brits can enjoy warm temperatures again
A
spokesman said: "Showers could be heavy at times with a risk of
thunder, mixed with some drier interludes, but possibly with some
hill snow in the north.
"The
rather unsettled pattern will continue, but with the southeast
increasingly seeing the better of any drier spells.
"[It
will be] windy with a risk of gales, more especially in the
southwest.
"Winds
will generally be moderate throughout, but strong along exposed
coasts with a risk of gales in the southwest."
Gulf
Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say
Gulf
Stream stops Britain from freezing over in Winter
24
March, 2014
The
Gulf Stream that helps to keep Britain from freezing over in winter
is slowing down faster now than at any time in the past millennium
according to a study suggesting that major changes are taking place
to the ocean currents of the North Atlantic.
Scientists
believe that the huge volumes of freshwater flowing into the North
Atlantic from the rapidly melting ice cap of Greenland have slowed
down the ocean “engine” that drives the Gulf Stream from the
Caribbean towards north-west Europe, bringing heat equivalent to the
output of a million power stations.
Scientists
believe that huge volumes of freshwater flowing into the North
Atlantic from the rapidly melting ice cap of Greenland have slowed
down the ocean “engine” that drives the Gulf Stream (Getty)
However,
the researchers believe that Britain is still likely to become warmer
due to climate change providing the Gulf Stream does not come to a
complete halt – although they remain unsure how likely this is.
Calculations
suggest that over the 20th century the North Atlantic meridional
overturning circulation – the northward flow of warm surface water
and the southward flow of deep, cold water – has slowed by between
15 and 20 per cent, said Professor Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam
Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.
“There
is more than a 99 per cent probability that this slowdown is unique
over the period we looked at since 900 AD. We conclude that the
slowdown many have described is in fact already underway and it is
outside of any natural variation,” Professor Rahmstorf said.
The
scientists calculated that some 8,000 cubic kilometres of freshwater
has flowed from Greenland into the Atlantic between 1900 and 1970,
and this rose significantly to 13,000 cubic kilometres between 1970
and 2000.
Freshwater
is lighter than salty water which means that it tends to float on the
surface of the ocean and in doing so disturbs the normal sinking of
dense, cold saltwater to the ocean floor, which is the main driver of
the Atlantic circulation.
An
iceberg in Ilulissat, Greenland; researchers have been studying the
phenomena of the melting glaciers and their long-term ramifications
for the rest of the world (Getty)
In
a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Professor
Rahmstorf and colleagues point out that maps of global surface
temperatures have consistently indicated an overall warming trend
around the world, except for the region of the North Atlantic south
of Greenland.
“It
is conspicuous that one specific area of the North Atlantic has been
cooling in the past hundred years while the rest of the world heats
up,” said Professor Rahmstorf, who added that previous research had
indicated that a slowdown in ocean currents may be the explanation.
“Now
we have detected strong evidence that the global conveyor has indeed
been weakening in the past hundred years, particularly since 1970,”
he said.
The
study used proxy measurements of the Atlantic currents, using ice
cores, tree rings, coral growth and ocean and lake sediments, to
estimate regional temperature variations and so assess how the Gulf
Stream has changed over the past 1,000 years.
Machair,
a grassy coastal habitat found only in north-west Scotland and the
west coast of Ireland, is one of the several elements of the UK’s
“cultural heritage” that is at risk from climate change (Getty)
Jason
Box of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, who helped to
calculate the amount of freshwater flowing into the Atlantic from
melting ice caps, said that the slowdown can be linked to man-made
climate change.
“Now
freshwater coming off the Greenland ice sheet is likely disturbing
the circulation. So the human-caused mass loss of the Greenland ice
sheet appears to be slowing down the Atlantic overturning, and this
effect might increase if temperatures are allowed to rise further,”
Dr Box said.
Michael
Mann of Pennsylvania State University said: “Common climate models
are underestimating the change we’re facing, wither because the
Atlantic overturning is too stable in the models or because they
don’t properly account for Greenland ice melt, or both.”
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