Climate Change - More water is coming out of the sky.

[deeps]

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn has just stated that fact on BBC1 local news 'Points West'.

Does anyone here know exactly how much more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change?

During the interview about local flooding, when it was suggested by the presenter that storm drains weren't being maintained, and local ditches/rhines weren't being dredged, Benn replied "I could not disagree more strongly" and went on to tell us that "more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change".

Is he right?

[10 Pence Short]

Either:

A) You admit your Government has completely fecked up in a thousand ways

or

B) You blame the sky




Tough one!

[kerplunk]

10 Pence Short said:

Either:

A) You admit your Government has completely fecked up in a thousand ways

or

B) You blame the sky




Tough one!

Combination of the two maybe? The last couple of years have been wetter than average.

As far as flooding goes it's hard to pull the info out of the stats - you could have a month with below average rainfall but if it all fell on your house in a couple of hours overwhelming the drains it might not feel like a very average occurence.

[micky g]

What utter bks.

[TomE]

deeps said:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn has just stated that fact on BBC1 local news 'Points West'.

Does anyone here know exactly how much more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change?

During the interview about local flooding, when it was suggested by the presenter that storm drains weren't being maintained, and local ditches/rhines weren't being dredged, Benn replied "I could not disagree more strongly" and went on to tell us that "more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change".

Is he right?

I had to endure a sustainability lecture at work the other day (it was mandatory!!) and the lecturer banged on about how climate change was not going to bring hotter weather, but just more rain and wind.

[esselte]

When I was a nipper I remember the council clearing the drains/gutter fairly regularly...we used to call it the "germ lorry"... can't remember the last time I saw this happening on residential streets...

Edited by esselte on Wednesday 17th December 19:36

[groomi]

I don't think I've ever seen such a thing. The closest we get around here is the road sweeper coming round once a year just after the gritting lorry has been round...

[Brink]

TomE said:

deeps said:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn has just stated that fact on BBC1 local news 'Points West'.

Does anyone here know exactly how much more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change?

During the interview about local flooding, when it was suggested by the presenter that storm drains weren't being maintained, and local ditches/rhines weren't being dredged, Benn replied "I could not disagree more strongly" and went on to tell us that "more water is coming out of the sky due to climate change".

Is he right?

I had to endure a sustainability lecture at work the other day (it was mandatory!!) and the lecturer banged on about how climate change was not going to bring hotter weather, but just more rain and wind.

Warmer oceans will lose more water from evaporation, so I s'pose - more rain. Don't see the wind connection though.

[theboyfold]

Do they not realise that by building more houses, more roads, more shopping centres etc, they take away places for the water to soak away? Therefore increasing the chances of flooding?

[chim666]

theboyfold said:

Do they not realise that by building more houses, more roads, more shopping centres etc, they take away places for the water to soak away? Therefore increasing the chances of flooding?

....and it all goes into the existing storm drains which cannot cope with the additional water....and overflow.

(bleedin' obvious innit)

"....local ditches/rhines weren't being dredged"

This is a real problem where I live as farmers cut back hedges with their tractor-driven machinery allowing the cuttings to drop into and completely fill up the ditches.

Edited by chim666 on Wednesday 17th December 19:45

[TomE]

theboyfold said:

Do they not realise that by building more houses, more roads, more shopping centres etc, they take away places for the water to soak away? Therefore increasing the chances of flooding?

Which is why designers now have to employ SUDS in all of their drainage designs, this means that any run off is attenuated to greenfield run off rates with some rather swanky but simple braking systems and big storage tanks so that downstream areas are less likely to flood.

have a look at the hydro brake animation here - http://www.hydrointernational.biz/animation/HydroB...

I wish I could have invented something so useful but yet so simple.

[deeps]

The data I googled doesn't show any increase in annual summer rainfall, but a slight increase in winter rainfall. I assume snow isn't included in the figures then, and as the winters have been warmer, what was snow is now recorded as rain and that would account for the increased rainfall stat.
Overall precipitation is more or less constant.

But anyway, the statement "more water is falling out of the sky" is totally irrelevant to flooding even it were true! What an ass of a statement!

An increase in average annual rainfall will not cause flooding.

We could easilly have the driest year for decades, producing the worst floods.

[kartmaster4213]

just wait until hydrogen cars start being mass produced, "all they produce is water vapour". Imagine london on a busy summer's day... or at least what used to be called summer until the sky became permanently cloudy due to the "clean" emmissions.

[welshbikerduck]

kartmaster4213 said:

just wait until hydrogen cars start being mass produced, "all they produce is water vapour". Imagine london on a busy summer's day... or at least what used to be called summer until the sky became permanently cloudy due to the "clean" emmissions.

So we can expect a new water tax then, of course goes without saying all in the name of helping the enviroment.

[Hyperion]

Give it a rest ffs.
We're coming out of a 10-15 year dry spell. The river down the road was dry for years, but now it's flowing nicely again.
The climate is 'changeable'...but it's hardly news because it's been doing it for millions of years.

[s3fella]

Water out of sky, hmmm, not so sure.

ste out of Minister's mouthes.......definately.

[Zod]

Two years ago they were telling us that climate change meant we had to expect permanent drought. They make up new justifications to fit whatever the current weather is doing.

[Westy Pre-Lit]

2 years ago we where all going to die as Global warming caused a drought. Now we are all going to die because there's tooooooooooo much rain.

We're all dooooooooomed i'll tell ya, all doomed.

Edited to say Zod beat me to it

Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Wednesday 17th December 20:45

[esselte]

Zod said:

Two years ago they were telling us that climate change meant we had to expect permanent drought. They make up new justifications to fit whatever the current weather is doing.

Yep,I remember loads of magazine/newspaper articles advising on the best drought resistant plants and how we'd have to get rid of our lawns etc.....

[m3jappa]

When will these people give up.

Do they not realise/care they are insulting the mugs who pay their wages?