Weather & Earth Science News

Confirmation from the Met Office of a provisional new record for highest temperature in UK as Cambridge Botanic Gardens recorded 38.7c on Thursday.  Meanwhile, Scotland records hottest night ever - in the West Highlands! Europe hit by heatwave and hailstorms as experts warn Greenland ice could melt Arctic wildfires: What's caused huge swathes of flames to spread? Typhoon Nari makes landfall in central Japan On the island of St Helana, the ‘rainfall has rocketed’: the remote weathermen charting the climate crisis Philippines earthquakes kill at least eight And have you got climate zombies? We debunk the myths that refuse to die

Not quite a UK record yesterday (yet - data from some manual stations is yet to come in) but it was the second hottest day, hottest July day on record for the UK , and only the second time 100f has been recorded as Cambridge NIAB saw a max of 38.1c.   In my garden it was an all time record though with 36.2c (though it's not standard exposure). So, the UK just misses all-time temperature record as commuters endure chaos on railway whilst in the east (but not here) dazzling bolts light up summer sky as UK bakes in record heat (used that story only because my friend Dan Holley gets a quite).  And a look at the UK's record-breaking heat in maps and charts Edit:  Data from Cambridge Botanical Gardens now in, and it reached 38.7c there, the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.  Meanwhile, across the Channel in the Europe heatwave: Paris latest to break record with 42.6C  with Benelux and Germany seeing all time records fall for the second cons...

Yesterday saw my station record broken for the highest minima (18.8c) - records from 2011.  Today may well see the maxima record broken.  It was 30.4c at 9am!   Same as at Heathrow .....  UK records should fall today as well as the country braces for hottest day on record after yesterday saw records tumble in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands And just as in 2003 when the current UK record was set, we could see some thunderstorms initiate around here, before developing into supercells as the track north.   And the Arctic Circle burns as heatwaves plague Europe and the US But as new research concludes that we haven't experienced anything like this in the past 2,000 years some still argue there's no warming at all.  Because it snowed at a ski resort in Argentina last week ....

Some of the most intense lightning I've ever seen, with intra-cloud flashes every second, last night as incredible pics show lightning storms hitting Britain overnight whilst more lightning strikes cause rail disruption across Scotland this morning But with predictions we could see all time records fall tomorrow, this short but searing heatwave forces rail firm to warn workers NOT to travel over fears of buckling rails in 97F heat Meanwhile, in Europe, French city of Bordeaux hits record temperature More than 50,000 people are left without power as rare tornado rips through Cape Cod More bodies found after flood hit Düzce in northwest Turkey So, can we avert a climate change apocalypse by hacking the planet's atmosphere? And should we? Volcano eruption leads to state of emergency, evacuations in southern Peru And the ozone threat from climate change

Severe storms and heavy downpours leaves New York streets underwater less than 24 hours after the temperatures hit 100F Deadly floods hit south and east China Across the USA, record high temperatures far exceed record lows - a trend of the climate crisis A report urges us to 'restore UK bogs' to tackle climate change though it does miss the point that many of our upland bogs are, at least in part, caused by deforestation ....  I'd rather see bogs drained and replanted with native trees.   Would help cut down the midge population too!   Meanwhile,  East Anglia and the Fens are our main arable farming region so if they revert to peat bog, where does our food come from?  Imported from abroad meaning an increase in CO2 emissions (until they invent nuclear fusion planes and boats, anyway).  Plus an increase in farmland meaning elsewhere, which means draining bogs or cutting down forests in other countries. 40 years ago, scientist...

Portugal wildfires: Huge operation tackles central Portugal blazes as another plume of hot air from Africa threatens temperature records in western Europe - and even England - once again Meanwhile there's relief for 200 million Americans as the killer heatwave that wreaked havoc, claiming six lives and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power, finally begins to cool Major Siberian cities choking from strong wildfires Lightning kills 32, injures dozens as monsoon batters India And some gloomy pictures of climate change from the top of the world from Arctic summer 2019: record-beating heat, dramatic ice loss and raging wildfires

An unexpectedly wet day in Evesham yesterday with 15.3mm of rain making it the wettest day of the year so far - but being only the second day in over 3 weeks to produce any measurable rainfall, very welcome for gardens and farmers!   Still no thunder and lightning.  But up near Manchester residents recall Hale “tornado” that blew roof off house and damaged car .  But there's likely to be a brief hot spell to follow rain as another plume of warm air comes up over Europe next week, just clipping the British Isles Meanwhile, after the last France heatwave: June's record high revised up And turning very hot in America too as dangerous heatwave starts hitting US and Canada Rain pounds southwestern Japan as typhoon approaches Korean Peninsula Worst floods in years 'submerge' Bangladesh villages Woman's body recovered after flash floods in NW Turkey Greek earthquake: Buildings collapse as powerful tremor shakes Athens Australian 'fla...

There's a cucumber crisis after Tokyo hit by cloudiest spell since records began Record heatwave will hit two thirds of the US this weekend In Australia, the Murray-Darling Basin in 'most severe' two-to-three year drought conditions in 120 years of records, BOM says Death toll climbs to 200 as South Asia copes with monsoon rains How May's Cyclone Fani is a sign that tropical storms are becoming more intense 4 drown in heavy rains unleashed by typhoon in Philippines Wildfires continue in Siberia with Hell on fire! Raging bush inferno at Batagai Depression, giant gash in the tundra The world experienced hottest June on record in 2019, says US agency as NOAA confirm previous findings.  Oddly, some science deniers still maintain it's getting colder ..... Sea level rise: West Antarctic ice collapse may be prevented by snowing ocean water onto it Flying ants: Swarms appear on weather map as 'rain' although some are scep...

 'This is unprecedented': Alert, Nunavut, is warmer than Victoria - 21c in the world's northernmost permanent settlement, just 500 miles from the north pole. Flooded Louisiana cleans up from Barry but dodges 'worst-case scenario' Death toll from floods in south Asia rises to more than 100 But it's not necessarily all the fault of the weather ..... we also have to consider the river politics behind South Asia's floods The world’s most unusual beach is a glacier in Russia’s Kingdom of Permafrost Dozens of aftershocks rattle WA after magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits near Broome Another case of unintended consequence?  Used cooking oil imports may fuel deforestation And terraforming the red planet? There may be a material way to make Mars habitable

Tropical Storm Barry: Trump approves Louisiana state of emergency Dramatic drone footage shows aftermath of violent storm which ripped through northern Greece killing seven and injuring at least 23 as state of emergency is declared in area Sydney Airport flights grounded due to damaging winds 30+ killed, 100+ buildings ravaged by floods & landslides in northern India and Nepal Arctic wildfires emitted as much CO2 in June as Sweden does in a year A seriously flawed, very amateurish, Finnish study finds ‘practically no’ evidence for man-made climate change - even most of the posters on WUWT tear it to shreds. And India air pollution: Will Gujarat's 'cap and trade' programme work?

Greece storm: Six tourists killed as wind and hail batter Halkidiki And another storm hits beach in Italy, sends sunbathers fleeing debris as freak weather plagues the country Flash floods in parts of NE Scotland where more than a month's worth of rainfall floods Dingwall and more big thunderstorms forecasts for today.   We had 0.3mm overnight in Evesham - the first rain for 2 weeks. Louisiana declares state of emergency as storm develops into hurricane with the Mississippi already in flood and there's a massive waterspout spotted near New Orleans as storm swamps streets Researchers discover ice is sliding toward edges off Greenland Ice Sheet Mumbai rains: Is India's weather becoming more extreme?   Possibly.  Too soon to say. Climate change: How hot cities could be in 2050 But fighting climate change may be cheaper and more beneficial than we think And how Arctic lead deposits trace European history from the Roman Empire to modern da...

Cars are washed away and piled up in the streets after floods strike across northern Spain, killing a motorist  As the heatwave continues, Alaska's Hess Creek Fire is now the nation's largest wildfire in 2019  whilst the State's air quality plummets as wildfire smoke hits Alaska's most populous cities Measures taken as over 60 percent of Czech Republic hit by extreme drought  (and it's not rained in Evesham for 2 weeks now) A criticism that when it comes to tackling climate change: UK government 'like Dad's Army' - I'm not sure I'd describe our government as being that competent on anything!  Last week's California earthquake leaves scar on the desert - a little crack in the Earth, visible from space And the daftest news of the week: UFOs create hurricane to enter underwater base, expert claims - expert as in youtube blogger with no expertise in anything at all ....

Dangerous flash flooding hits Washington DC during morning commute The s cience behind California’s two big earthquakes last week A surveillance camera captures the scene as a ‘landspout’ tornado touches down in New Jersey, flips car Chile suffers the worst drought in 60 years Thousands affected by severe flooding in eastern China Frozen waterfalls in Brazil as with -9.2 ° C Urupema breaks record of cold already registered (translation) And a warning that p eak levels of Highland biting midges expected soon - hopefully they will have dropped by the end of August!

Southern California shaken by 6.4 magnitude earthquake , their biggest for 20 years.   As the Alaskan heatwave continues, Anchorage breaks all-time record high temperature In pictures: The aftermath of deadly Siberian floods where at least 18 people have now died How snow has been falling in Western Australia since records began Climate change: Trees 'most effective solution' for warming - so why don't we stop burning down the rainforests? Using artificial intelligence to better predict severe weather And more litter concerns in Scotland as photos show rubbish piled at old Isle of Skye bothy (but the new Camasunary is reported to be well looked after) and academics call for global action to tackle ocean plastic - just as a new report reveals hundreds of sharks and rays tangled in plastic

Caught on video, the terrifying moment huge tornado rips through a Chinese city, leaving at least six people dead and 190 injured Meanwhile, a brutal heatwave strikes China's Guangdong, Hebei provinces More heavy rain in south Japan causes flood, mudslides; 4 injured Exceptional Alaska heat wave threatens all-time records, notably in Anchorage How unprecedented Arctic megafires are releasing a huge amount of CO2 And Stromboli: One dead as volcano erupts on Italian island

Although the temperature in Evesham was nothing special - indeed the average was 2.2c down on last year! - and that was reflected across Britain, there were record-breaking temperatures for June for Europe and the World.   There was, of course, also record heatwaves in India and Alaska.  NOAA data won't be out till later in the month.  But when it comes to climate change and the European heatwave: It's complicated .   Heavy rains in Japan force almost 800,000 residents to evacuate - a metre of rain has fallen in some parts since Friday.  They do often get heavy tropical rain there though! The winter's first snowfall turns parts of South Africa into winter wonderland Severe frosts and plummeting temperatures hit NSW growers during drought The US top of the garbage pile in global waste crisis - producing three times as much as anyone else, and recycling less.   And we not just talking politicians here!   Meanwhile, i...

After hitting a record high in 2014, now floating Antarctic ice drops to record lows In Mumbai: Heaviest rain in decade triggers chaos 2 dead after severe storms with straight-line winds hit Long Island, Connecticut More photos with the toll now twelve dead & thousands left homeless as severe flooding hits Siberia Wildfires devastate 10,000 hectares of forest across Spain in heatwave Not really surprising after recent weather that the Czech Republic, Lithuania see hottest June on record How the evolution of life in the ocean changed 170 million years ago The area the size of a 'football pitch' of Amazon forest lost every minute according to satellite data.  It has serious impacts on global climate. And the contradictions of the world's largest nation: China remains the world's worst polluter but did you know it's also a leader in renewable energy?

Mexico summer storm buries cars in ice on streets of Guadalajara whilst Houston, Texas, reported 'snow' on June 28 because of a quirky way we record weather observations - it was actually also hail and of note only because someone, somewhere is sure to use it as proof the world is really getting colder ..... Flood apocalypse in Eastern Siberia kills five and maroons 9,919 whose homes destroyed or damaged In Japan, heavy rainfall hits southern Kyushu; evacuation orders issued Here, we had a one-day burst of heat Saturday as London hit 34c (33.1c in my garden) which made it the hottest day of the year as temperatures soar - but it was then back to normal on Sunday.   There were some big thunderstorms in Scotland, but nothing down here, with power returned to storm-affected homes in Scotland on Sunday.  But in France, Montpellier melts under a 45C high as Europe hit by record heatwave , whilst Germany records all-time hottest June temperature And Alaska...