10th August - Today's News

Whilst the Caribbean and USA have be spared any tropical storms so far, East Asia has not been so lucky and this weekend both Typhoons Morakot and Etau have been causing devastation and loss of life. And it's mostly been the rains rather than wind that has brought tragedy.

Flood overwhelms Philippines rescuers, death toll at 20

Typhoon Morakot triggers floods in Taiwan

Killer typhoon lashes China

Taiwan mudslide leaves 400 missing

13 dead as typhoon brings floods, landslides to Japan

There will no doubt be more news on this over the next few days as rescue efforts continue and the extent of damage becomes more apparent.

Meanwhile, in the east Pacific: Hawaii closing beaches as Hurricane Felicia nears.

43 killed in landslides in northern India. Note: "Extensive deforestation has made the region prone to landslides during monsoon rains."

Spectacular melting of the largest French glacier - which, incidentally, is in midst of the Indian Ocean .....

Long debate ended over cause, demise of ice ages .....

The melting was first caused by more solar radiation, not changes in carbon dioxide levels or ocean temperatures, as some scientists have suggested in recent years.

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Sometime around now, scientists say, the Earth should be changing from a long interglacial period that has lasted the past 10,000 years and shifting back towards conditions that will ultimately lead to another ice age - unless some other forces stop or slow it. But these are processes that literally move with glacial slowness, and due to greenhouse gas emissions the Earth has already warmed as much in about the past 200 years as it ordinarily might in several thousand years, Clark said.

I'm pleased that from this brief news story it looks like my own views on the subject are supported by this research:- orbital parameters change N Hemisphere insolation leading to increased survival of winter snow fields resulting in new glaciers growing ...... and eventually they become big enough to start influencing the climate across the whole planet.

And finally, with I must say some reluctance, I bring you the winner of the "Most Disingenuous, Misleading, Inaccurate and Unwarranted Story of the Week" Award: Weather Forecasters to get £1m in bonuses - even after washout 'barbecue summer'. It's worth noting that the bonuses go to all MetO employees, not just the forecasters and amount to only a few hundred pounds each (coming to £1m in total - not as the headline suggests to each and every forecaster! ) . Furthermore, despite a few very wet days, the summer is not a washout and cannot be said to be until the end of summer. And anyway, there have been more days with 30c (as predicted) and suitable for BBQs (as predicted) this year than in the past couple of years. But I'm sure that if someone at the Daily Mail writes an inaccurate or misleading headline, then not one single person for the company will get even a pay rise let alone a bonus. Right? And if that isn't the case then the Mail should also receive the "Biggest Hypocrite of the Week" Award as well. And you know what, I think it has ......