Although burning fossil fuels has enabled society to develop and flourish, we are now experiencing the unintended side effects.
heatwave
Drought: heavy rain now might be a serious problem for the UK’s parched landscape
This year, World Water Week (23 August – 1 September) focuses on Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water. This article by Rob Thompson, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Meteorology at…Read More >
Too hot to sleep? Nights are warming faster than days as Earth heats up
Sleeping at the height of summer can sometimes feel impossible. And with gruelling heatwaves becoming more common, the nights can be sweltering, with no cooling breeze to relieve the discomfort. At…Read More >
Four things cool countries can learn from hot ones about dealing with heatwaves
With our planet heating up, we all need help coping with increasing temperatures in our day-to-day lives. The UK provisionally recorded its highest ever temperature, 40.3℃, on July 19 2022, and records…Read More >
‘Expect the unexpected’: Extreme weather is creating the perfect storm for risk contagion
So, you’ve stocked the freezer with ice cubes, shut the windows and curtains, and cancelled your exercise class, are you now fully prepared for the extreme heatwave? Of course, there’s…Read More >
Heatwave Britain hits 40.3°C – here’s how scientists know when a temperature record has been broken
The UK has experienced its hottest day on record, as provisional data showed the temperature soared to 40.3°C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire. This surpassed the previous record of 38.7°C set in Cambridge…Read More >
Heatwave: why extreme weather forecasts have improved so much
The UK has recorded its hottest ever temperature, passing 40℃ for the first time. But you can’t deny it had fair warning. The Met Office issued an amber weather warning six…Read More >
What science says about the best ways to cool down
We spend most of the year complaining that Britain is too cold and wet but gripe with just as much enthusiasm about the heat. Although moaning about the weather is…Read More >
Extreme heat warning: what first-ever Met Office alert means
Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met…Read More >
How will the 2018 drought affect our wildlife?
This summer’s heatwave has us all wondering how to stay cool, but animals are facing the same issues as humans with fewer means of coping. Professor Tom Oliver is Professor…Read More >