1st August - Today's News

Another summer month starts - and it's dull and drizzly in Evesham ....... There are signs we could see some warmer weather to the SE at times this month but overall it looks to me like a similar story to July with quite likely a fair bit of rain around. Not what folk want to hear, I know!

And with all this rain about, perhaps no surprise that for the first time in it's history, Brecon County Show called off because of the weather

Severe weather outbreak hits Mississippi and the Memphis area

In Denver, Thursday sets record for coolest high temperature - and there's fresh snow on the Colorado mountains to boot.

Lightning strikes Beetham Tower - that's Britain's tallest residential building. Being struck isn't so unusual, but someone caught it on film which is pretty impressive.

Global poll finds 73% want higher priority for climate change - I guess they don't mean they want more money spent to cause climate change!

The poll, which sampled the opinions of 18,578 people in 19 countries, found broad popular support for making climate change a top priority extended even to those countries whose governments have yet to commit to global action. In China there was overwhelming support — 94% — for the government to keep climate change on the front burner. And in India, which is also rapidly emerging as one of the world's leading producers of global warming pollution, 59% of the public wanted their government to make climate change a top priority.

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Only four countries — Germany, Britain, China, and Indonesia — considered that their governments were focused on climate change. But, that did not necessarily satisfy the demand for even greater action.

Although the majority of Britons, 58%, credit the government with making climate change a major priority, even greater numbers, 89%, believe there is room for the government to do even more.

Perhaps the most bizarre climate news of the week is the suggestion that sea animals change climate via flutters and flaps

Despite having been largely ignored by climate science, sea creatures' countless tentacle snaps, fin flaps, and tail twitches are responsible for a third or more of all "ocean mixing"—as much as winds or tides—according to a new study of jellyfish.

This mixing of seawater layers— and their salt, nutrients, carbon dioxide, and even heat—helps guide ocean circulation, which, like the atmosphere, moves heat around the planet.

And today's "well they blame it for everything else" award goes to rodent size linked to human population and climate change

Pergams found both increases and decreases in the 15 anatomic traits he measured, with changes as great as 50 percent over 80 years. Ten of the 15 traits were associated with changes in human population density, current temperature, or trends in temperature and precipitation.