Climate change - the POLITICAL debate. Vol 2

[With these feet]

Otispunkmeyer said:

BBC news headlines (sorry !) This morning. Some presenter stood in a garden with the headline something along the lines of dealing with hit summers caused by climate change! Said with a completely straight face.

Where's that picture of batman slapping robin? It's summer you fool! It gets warm! And this summer's hardly been a blow out! It's been quite mild compared to some I remember.

Absolutely, we have had a few warm days and all Im hearing is "Yes, its a good job its raining/going to rain, the gardens need it", like the grass is burnt or we're having forest fires!

Nothing like the summers we had in the 70's. Maybe Im remembering it as a kid and everything was bigger/hotter/better, but I cant remember the last time we had a proper Scorchio summer with weeks of continuous hot weather.

[The Don of Croy]

Just reading this drivel in the Torygraph;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10955...

- will comment further later.

[zygalski]

With these feet said:

...but I cant remember the last time we had a proper Scorchio summer with weeks of continuous hot weather.

I can.
12 months ago.

[The Don of Croy]

From that Telegraph piece;

"More than 800 jobs – 20 per cent of staff - have been lost in the Environment Agency (EA)’s flood risk management team since September 2010, with more than half of those in roles specifically tasked with avoiding floods..."

So 4000 bods worked there, of which 400 apparently were tasked with avoiding floods - boy did THEY do a stand out job over the past few years!

Also, if there is a 'flood risk management team' would they not all be tasked with avoiding floods at some level?

The journo/hackette here appears to be a little hazy on detail, analysis, or facts. No surprise really.

On a related item - I wonder if the French have any figures for how many lives could have been saved from the heatwave if the hospitals had fitted adequate sun blinds?

[With these feet]

' Met office says "Hottest summer since 2006" Was 2006 exceptional? Not really, especially when the '07-'12 were classed as "dull and wet".

The met is clever in stating "there were over x number of days where the temp was over y SOMEWHERE in the UK, or putting sunniest - not hottest.

I live on the south coast, exactly where the experts were saying we would be having a Mediterranean climate. Im still waiting for it.....

[zygalski]

I'm in mid Sussex & last Summer was an absolute belter. We had about 3 weeks of continuous hot & sunny days last July with temps between 25 & 34 degrees. Several weeks in August were also very hot, dry & sunny.
Some people at my place of work bought air con units for their bedrooms last year.

Edited by zygalski on Wednesday 9th July 09:04

[Moonhawk]

zygalski said:

I can.
12 months ago.

I don't recall the summer of 2013 being anything out of the ordinary. In fact - I recall it being a bit of a damp squib. We didn't get nearly as much done in our garden as we have this year - due in no small part to the weather.

I guess it depends where you are in the country though.

[chris watton]

To some, it seems that long hot summer of '76 never happened.

I remember that vividly as a very energetic 9 year old - even I had to lie down on the settee at times during the day, as the heat was so exhausting.

The last time I had to do that was when living in Italy a few years back. Never the UK, not for prolonged periods like in '76 and sunny Italy. I think the longest run of nice weather since coming back to the UK in 2010 has been around 2 weeks.

The stuff I read from the pro-zealots has become hysterically funny - like they're parodying themselves, and are so narrow minded, they don't even realise it!

[nelly1]

Otispunkmeyer said:

BBC news headlines (sorry !) This morning...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-2821...

Article said:

Maria Eagle MP, Labour's shadow environment secretary, said: "The government's failure to get to grips with the increasing impact of climate change threatens our national security.

Article also said:

The report admits that accurately foretelling the UK's future weather is impossible, but it stresses the need to be resilient to extremes of all kinds.

[zygalski]

760 people died due to heat-related illnesses last Summer.
People have short memories....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hea...

"The heatwave has been responsible for as many as 760 deaths, according to official calculations, as the UK enters the sixth day of plus-30C temperatures.

The temperature on Thursday hit 31.0C, following Wednesday’s year-high of 31.9C at Heathrow, marking the longest heatwave for seven years."

[chris watton]

zygalski said:

760 people died due to heat-related illnesses last Summer.
People have short memories....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hea...

And what are the Winter death stats?

[zygalski]

chris watton said:

And what are the Winter death stats?

Hot Winter-related deaths?
That's pushing it a bit far.

[Jinx]

zygalski said:

760 people died due to heat-related illnesses last Summer.
People have short memories....
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hea...

"The heatwave has been responsible for as many as 760 deaths, according to official calculations, as the UK enters the sixth day of plus-30C temperatures.

The temperature on Thursday hit 31.0C, following Wednesday’s year-high of 31.9C at Heathrow, marking the longest heatwave for seven years."

31.9 C - that's not even in the nineties in old money. Remember all the 100 degree days that made headlines in the seventies?

[zygalski]

Jinx said:

31.9 C - that's not even in the nineties in old money. Remember all the 100 degree days that made headlines in the seventies?

It got to over 34 degrees in August last year.
Earlier in the thread we were informed that it's been years since we had weeks of continuous hot, sunny days during a Summer. Last year we had a 19 day heatwave in July, so the previous poster is incorrect, unless he is referring to micro-climates.

[WinstonWolf]

zygalski said:

Jinx said:

31.9 C - that's not even in the nineties in old money. Remember all the 100 degree days that made headlines in the seventies?

It got to over 34 degrees in August last year.
Earlier in the thread we were informed that it's been years since we had weeks of continuous hot, sunny days during a Summer. Last year we had a 19 day heatwave in July, so the previous poster is incorrect, unless he is referring to micro-climates.

I think it's you who has the short memory, we're just reminiscing about '76 over here.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Now that was 'proper' hot...

[Jinx]

zygalski said:

It got to over 34 degrees in August last year.
Earlier in the thread we were informed that it's been years since we had weeks of continuous hot, sunny days during a Summer. Last year we had a 19 day heatwave in July, so the previous poster is incorrect, unless he is referring to micro-climates.

Not everywhere - certainly not in North Hertfordshire and London. The year before we had a nice couple of weeks during the Olympics but there was even some rain then. 2013 was a terrible summer (how many hose-pipe bans)?

[zygalski]

WinstonWolf said:

zygalski said:

Jinx said:

31.9 C - that's not even in the nineties in old money. Remember all the 100 degree days that made headlines in the seventies?

It got to over 34 degrees in August last year.
Earlier in the thread we were informed that it's been years since we had weeks of continuous hot, sunny days during a Summer. Last year we had a 19 day heatwave in July, so the previous poster is incorrect, unless he is referring to micro-climates.

I think it's you who has the short memory, we're just reminiscing about '76 over here.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Now that was 'proper' hot...

I don't disagree.
I remember the ladybirds & flying ants. '76 was the hottest, longest Summer I have known, but to say we no longer get heatwaves during Summer is just ignoring (or rather denying) reality.

[chris watton]

WinstonWolf said:

I think it's you who has the short memory, we're just reminiscing about '76 over here.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Now that was 'proper' hot...

Great thread! (never think to venture into The Lounge too often..)

[WinstonWolf]

chris watton said:

WinstonWolf said:

I think it's you who has the short memory, we're just reminiscing about '76 over here.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Now that was 'proper' hot...

Great thread! (never think to venture into The Lounge too often..)

And no bun fights which makes a pleasant change

[With these feet]

zygalski said:

It got to over 34 degrees in August last year.
Earlier in the thread we were informed that it's been years since we had weeks of continuous hot, sunny days during a Summer. Last year we had a 19 day heatwave in July, so the previous poster is incorrect, unless he is referring to micro-climates.

So now our Summers are classed as a heatwave for 19 days?

Yes the sun came out, yes it was hot for a while, yes people do die in heat, as they do when its cold, or cool or warm. Unfortunately it seems now all hot weather has fk all to do with the giant ball of plasma in the sky, its all made by us producing Co2, or so we would be told to believe.

No hose pipe bans, no scorched grass, no fire warnings. Last year had a few peak highs but was no record breaker that would stick in my memory. Unless of course Im getting used to this balmy tropical islands climate .....