Climate Emergency

Chizz said:

And I thought we were having it bad in the midlands 😮.

The only thing hiding there is the greenery. 

Here's my back garden and beyond. Been a while since we've seen any of the wet stuff. Not sure if we're officially in a drought here (Northants)

ME14addick said:

swordfish said:

Chizz said:

And I thought we were having it bad in the midlands 😮.

The only thing hiding there is the greenery. 

Here's my back garden and beyond. Been a while since we've seen any of the wet stuff. Not sure if we're officially in a drought here (Northants)

According to the Environment Agency map you are in a drought area  

Thanks. Not surprising. Lived here for twenty three years and never seen it tinder dry like this. Worrying. 

Raith_C_Chattonell said:

All the gardening programs say don't worry about the grass it always comes back. 

I'm not so sure though.  After 6/7 weeks of this there might be a run on grass seed in September.

Even the weeds are having a hard time of it this year!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70gk2dl5jyo

A map of the drought areas shown in the linked article.

Heavy snow in Losotho ! .. it is their winter, but even so

@ME14addick 's post describing one type of thunderstorm was good but there are other types.  Again, usually with a spanish plume, storms can be generated by the unstable air, often over northern France and imported across the channel.  These don't clear the air.  The most spectacular are when this type meet a different air mass.  You can also get thunderstorms where an unstable air mass moves over the top of stable air causing a dramatic lightning display but little thunder or rain.  A new one on me was 'thunderstorms' caused by wild fires.

Thunderstorms can also be split into single cell (a few flashes, a gap, a few more flashes, a gap .... repeat, repeat) and super cells which are continuous and in extreme circumstances can spawn tornadoes.

If you've got this far you may be interested in this short video which answers the question; Does lightning go down, up or sideways ?

https://youtu.be/TlLheyt0WxI?is=2FZUruoQxn8idwnV

ME14addick said:

Hex said:

ME14addick said:

Raith_C_Chattonell said:

All the gardening programs say don't worry about the grass it always comes back. 

I'm not so sure though.  After 6/7 weeks of this there might be a run on grass seed in September.

It usually does come back, but I've never known the grass to be so crispy & crunchy to walk on. It's going to take a lot of rain to get things back to 'normal'. The ground is so hard that much of it will just run off, it needs sustained rain for a long time.

The gardening video I watched last night reckoned grass survives 4 to 6 weeks without water.  If you pull out a little stem and it is white where the stem meets the roots then it is alive. If it is brown and crispy .....

Oh dear, doesn't sound too good for the grass. Hopefully the weeds will make it greener when we get some rain!
 

The current estimate for the southern half of England is 1-3% moisture content down to 1 metre.  It's going to take a lot of rain and no hot sunshine to rectify that situation.  Expectations are that for the next few days, the combination of high temperatures, very low humidity and gusty winds as well as plenty of 'fuel' will make the wildfire risk extreme.

cantersaddick said:

usetobunkin said:

Wonder if the threshold for calling a bout of hot weather a Heatwave will go up as the average temperature rises. 

 

Some of the satellite photos of the country are pretty scary. 

Have also noticed that the birds are missing from my garden between 10am to 4pm  when the temperature reaches 35 degrees wondering if that is a known issue or just what birds do.

I'm pretty sure it already does. If I remember correctly it's regional within the UK and + X degrees above the average temperature in that region from the last decade. So it's constantly increasing the threshold yet we are surpassing it faster and further and more frequently.

They are. 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/uk-heatwaves-how-the-records-tell-a-changing-story

BigRedEvil said:

I really hope we fast track building more resorvoirs to store water during the winter months. It's going to be needed in the future

Thames Water will pay shareholders dividends before they invest in much needed infrastructure 

ME14addick said:

cantersaddick said:

usetobunkin said:

Wonder if the threshold for calling a bout of hot weather a Heatwave will go up as the average temperature rises. 

 

Some of the satellite photos of the country are pretty scary. 

Have also noticed that the birds are missing from my garden between 10am to 4pm  when the temperature reaches 35 degrees wondering if that is a known issue or just what birds do.

I'm pretty sure it already does. If I remember correctly it's regional within the UK and + X degrees above the average temperature in that region from the last decade. So it's constantly increasing the threshold yet we are surpassing it faster and further and more frequently.

They are. 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/uk-heatwaves-how-the-records-tell-a-changing-story

Weather averages are calculated over the previous 3 decades, starting on a 1, so currently 1991-2020.  These will be updated with 2001-2030 when we enter 2031.

usetobunkin said:

Wonder if the threshold for calling a bout of hot weather a Heatwave will go up as the average temperature rises. 

 

Some of the satellite photos of the country are pretty scary. 

Have also noticed that the birds are missing from my garden between 10am to 4pm  when the temperature reaches 35 degrees wondering if that is a known issue or just what birds do.

Just like us, and practically all animals, birds don't like it when they get too hot. There's a number of things they can do to keep as cool as they can, two of the most important are pretty obvious: stay out of direct sunlight and avoid flapping wings which creates mechanical heat. As a result many will simply hide themselves away. As warm-blooded creatures, a good chunk of their dietary energy is spent on keeping warm - at least, when it's cold. When it's this hot, they simply don't require as much energy to survive and so don't need to spend as much time foraging or hunting. So yes, I think the weather is having a big affect on their behaviour.

That said, it's usually a crap time of year to see birds anyway as a result of their lifecycles. Adult birds literally run themselves ragged in the spring with their nest building and care of the little ones. They often need to take several weeks out of action to rejuvenate their feathers. In particuar, those that migrate are starting to plan for some pretty big journeys in the coming weeks, a major part of that is resting up. So, whilst I'm pretty sure the extreme weather is taking its toll, it's not the only reason for the lack of bird activity. 

ME14addick said:

Dansk_Red said:

I read an interesting article which quoted the that the UK & Spanish Met Offices stating that part of the cause of the excess heat is down to cleaner air. 

A very small part I understand, but the main driver is an increase in greenhouse gases. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has gone up by 50% since the Industrial Revolution 
. 

And what is the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?

MuttleyCAFC said:

The climate is definitely changing. I can't understand those that deny it. 

People who deny the obvious change in the weather in our lifetime are clearly delusional. 

https://community.netweather.tv/topic/102666-model-and-forecast-commentary-summer-2026/page/303/