Earth Watch Report - Flooding
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| Description |
| As
forecasters warn of snow, high winds and more rain into Wednesday, some
1,000 properties have been evacuated in the south of England. The 124
flood warnings across England and Wales include 14 severe warnings in
Berkshire and Surrey and two in Somerset. Along the Thames Valley,
warnings are in place from north of Oxford to the outskirts of London,
with Chertsey, Colnbrook, Datchet and Wraysbury among the worst
affected. |
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| Updated: | Wednesday, 12 February, 2014 at 17:47 UTC |
| Description |
| Britain's
weather service says it sees the tentacles of climate change in a spate
of storms and floods battering the country, but has stopped short of
saying warming directly caused the extreme storms. The latest round of
bad weather hit Britain's west coast Wednesday with winds gusting at
more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour. The Met Office said in a
paper published this week that "there is no definitive answer" on the
role played by climate change in the recent weather and floods. But it
said there is "an increasing body of evidence that extreme daily
rainfall rates are becoming more intense," probably due to a warming
world. Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo told the BBC that "all
the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change." The Met office
study discusses evidence of increasingly extreme weather events and
changes in the jet stream, but it does not say global warming caused the
flooding. To do that, scientists take months, sometimes years, to
conduct detailed computer simulations — and the report said such
research was needed in this case. England had its wettest January since
records were first kept almost 250 years ago, and the country has been
lashed by wind and rain since December. Resulting floods have drenched
the southwestern coast of England, the low-lying Somerset Levels and the
Thames Valley, west of London, where hundreds of properties have been
swamped as the river burst its banks this week. The Met Office issued a
highest-level red warning of "exceptionally strong winds" Wednesday for
west Wales and northwest England. It said a gust of 106 mph (170 kph)
was recorded at Aberdaron in northwestern Wales. The Met Office said
gusts could cause widespread structural damage and loss of power.
Railway operator Network Rail said the main west coast train line would
close for about two hours Wednesday evening because of the wind. |
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The Star.com
World
Scientists link Britain’s extreme weather to climate change
"All
the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change," Britain's
weather service says as high winds batter the country's west coast.
View 3 photos
CARL COURT / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Residents
wade along a flooded road near Egham, west of London, on Feb. 12.
Flooded communities in Britain faced a fresh battering from storms and
high winds.
By: The Associated Press, Published on Wed Feb 12 2014
LONDON—Britain’s
weather service says it sees the tentacles of climate change in a spate
of storms and floods battering the country, but has stopped short of
saying warming directly caused the extreme storms.
The latest round of bad weather hit Britain’s west coast Wednesday with winds gusting at more than 160 km/h.
The
Met Office said in a paper published this week that “there is no
definitive answer” on the role played by climate change in the recent
weather and floods.
But it said there is “an increasing body of
evidence that extreme daily rainfall rates are becoming more intense,”
probably due to a warming world.
Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo told the BBC that “all the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change.”
Read More Here
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As flooding batters Britain, politicians point fingers
With
national election looming in 2015, the government appears to be playing
defence: PM David Cameron says “money no object” in relief effort.
View 4 photos
Christopher Furlong / GETTY IMAGES
Nigel
Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party, tours flooded properties
and roads as he visits Chertsey on Feb. 11. The Environment Agency
continues to issue severe flood warnings for a number of areas on the
river Thames.
Jennifer Quinn News reporter, Published on Tue Feb 11 2014
Forget the weather, or climate change, or the wettest January in 2½ centuries. In Britain, politicians appear to be blaming
terrible floods, devastating swaths of the English countryside, on each other.
And
with a national election looming in 2015, the government appears to be
playing defence: when it comes to the relief effort, Prime Minister
David Cameron said Tuesday, “money is no object.”
The leader of
Britain’s coalition government called a rare press conference to address
the response to the floods, perhaps seeking to become the voice of
reason in a national conversation dominated by duelling factions, such
as the (Conservative) community minister accusing the (Labour) chair of
the Environment Agency of ineptitude.
On the weekend, Eric
Pickles, the minister for communities and local government — and a
former chair of the Conservative Party — said that ministers “thought we
were dealing with experts” when they took the advice of the Environment
Agency, which leads on issues of flooding.
Agency chair Chris
Smith — a former Labour cabinet minister who sits in the House of Lords
as an independent — shot back, telling the BBC that his team knows “100
times more about flood management than any politician ever does.”
And
into that fray stepped Cameron on Tuesday. He returned to Downing St.
after a visit to the battered southwest coast of the U.K. to announce
that £2.4 billion ($4.36 billion) would be spent on Britain’s flood
defences and pledging whatever is necessary to help beleaguered
residents recover.
“Whatever money is needed for it,” Cameron said, “it will be spent. We will take whatever steps necessary.”
Read More Here
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Storm With 106-mph Gusts Hits Flooded Britain
By Jill Lawless and Seth Borenstein
February 13, 2014 2:44PM Gusts
of more than 100 miles per hour lashed western Britain's coast, while
severe flood warnings remained in place for much of the south and west
of the country. Britain's weather agency says "there is no definitive
answer" on the role played by climate change in the recent weather and
floods, but evidence suggests there is a link.
Britain's
weather service says it sees the tentacles of climate change in a spate
of storms and floods battering the country, but has stopped short of
saying that global warming directly caused the extreme conditions.The
latest round of bad weather slammed into Britain's west coast on
Wednesday with torrential rain and winds gusting up to 106 mph (170
kph). Trucks were toppled, trees were felled and a major chunk of the
railway was closed.
The Web site of rail operator Virgin Trains greeted visitors with the words: "Do Not Travel."
England, which has been lashed by wind and rain since December, had its wettest January since records began in 1766.
The
resulting floods have drenched the southwestern coast of England, the
low-lying Somerset Levels and the Thames Valley west of London, where
hundreds of properties have been swamped after the Thames burst its
banks.
Britain's Met Office, the nation's weather agency, said in a
paper published this week that "there is no definitive answer" on the
role played by climate change in the recent weather and floods. But it
said there is "an increasing body of evidence that extreme daily
rainfall rates are becoming more intense," probably due to a warming
world.
Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo told the BBC that "all the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change."
Read More Here
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