The Weather & Environment Thread :)

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SKB
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UK also to ban new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2040
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(BBC)
New diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2040 in a bid to tackle air pollution, the government is set to announce.
Ministers are to unveil a £255m fund to help councils introduce steps to deal with pollution from diesel vehicles as part of £3bn spending on air quality.

The government will publish a court-mandated clean air strategy later, days before a High Court deadline. Campaigners said the measures were promising, but more detail was needed. The government was ordered by the courts to produce new plans to tackle illegal levels of harmful pollutant nitrogen dioxide. It came after the courts agreed with environmental campaigners that previous plans were insufficient to meet EU pollution limits.

Ministers had to set out their draft clean air strategy plans in May with the final measures due by 31 July. Local measures could include retrofitting buses and other transport to make them cleaner, changing road layouts, altering features such as speed humps and re-programming traffic lights to make vehicle-flow smoother. Campaigners want government-funded and mandated clean air zones, with charges for the most-polluting vehicles to enter areas with high air pollution, included in the plans, as well as a diesel scrappage scheme.

But ministers have been wary of being seen to "punish" drivers of diesel cars, who, it argues, bought the vehicles in good faith after being encouraged to by the last Labour government on the basis they produced lower carbon emissions. The UK announcement comes amid signs of an accelerating shift towards electric cars instead of petrol and diesel ones both at home and abroad.

The government's plans will not contain a vehicle scrappage scheme. And it won't mandate councils to charge dirty vehicles to enter cities.
Compulsory clean air charging zones were identified by the government's own experts as the best way to tackle pollution. And the decision not to include them in the policy leaves the government in breach of a court order to produce a comprehensive clean air strategy by the end of this month. Ministers argue that it is better to have a scheme for tackling the worst pollution hotspots rather than rushing out a botched comprehensive strategy.

But clean air campaigners will accuse the government of failing to obey the court yet again, having already lost a case on this issue in April.
ClientEarth, the legal group which brought that case, previously warned it would consider going back to court if the government failed to meet its legal obligations to ensure clean air for people to breathe. Air pollution is thought to be linked to about 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, and transport also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

A government spokesman said poor air quality was "the biggest environmental risk" to public health in the UK. "This government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible," he said. "Our plan to deal with dirty diesels will help councils clean up emissions hotspots - often a single road - through common sense measures which do not unfairly penalise ordinary working people.

Environmental law firm ClientEarth welcomed the measures, but said it wanted to see more detail. Its chief executive James Thornton said: "A clear policy to move people towards cleaner vehicles by banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans after 2040 is welcome, as is more funding for local authorities. "However, the law says ministers must bring down illegal levels of air pollution as soon as possible, so any measures announced in this plan must be focused on doing that."

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Electric Mini to be assembled in Oxford
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(BBC)
A fully electric version of the Mini will be assembled at the Cowley plant in Oxford, BMW has said.

The car maker said the model would go into production in 2019, with Oxford the main "production location" for the Mini three-door model. However, the electric motor will be built in Germany before being shipped to Cowley for assembly. BMW said it had "neither sought nor received" any reassurances from the UK on post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Last year, the government faced questions about the "support and assurances" given to Nissan before the company announced that new versions of its Qashqai and X-Trail would be made in the UK. And there have been reports that Toyota agreed to invest in the UK after receiving a letter reassuring the Japanese carmaker over post-Brexit arrangements.

About 360,000 Minis are made each year, with more than 60% of them built at Oxford. But BMW has built up an alternative manufacturing base in the Netherlands amid concerns about Britain's suitability as an export hub after Brexit.

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Artesh
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Tehran, 3:00 PM

36 C degrees.

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SKB
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Florida's residents told not to shoot the hurricane.... :roll:


It would seem some of Florida's residents believe they can turn back a hurricane by shooting bullets at it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... e3100ff02a

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For those still tracking what's happening in the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria is now predicted to follow approximately the same path as Irma (though slightly further South, passing over Dominica, Guadeloup, USVI and Puerto Rico. Currently a Category 1, but expected to strengthen to a 2 or 3 by the time it hits the Leewards.

That said, hurricanes following Maria's path have been known to go further South and deeper into the Caribbean, so I'm not running down my hurricane supplies any time soon :shock:

Hurricane Jose is still a Category 1 and is currently wandering aimlessly around the Atlantic about halfway between Bermuda and the US coastline, heading almost due North. It's not currently expected to make landfall.

Tropical Depression Lee is following on behind Maria, but is not currently predicted to strengthen significantly
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

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Maria is now a Category 5 and has made a direct hit on Dominica. The models seem to predict that it will now make a direct hit on USVI (as Category 5) and Puerto Rico (as Category 4), TCI then most of the Bahamas and possibly Florida. BVI will probably get quite a battering as well.

Edit: Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Lucia are also badly affected
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
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Great Storm Of October coming again?
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^ 16th October 1987

Hurricane Ophelia's winds are forecast to hit the UK and Ireland on the morning of Monday 16th October, exactly 30 years to the day since the Great Storm of 1987.

UPDATE: Ophelia has been upgraded to a catagory 2 hurricane as it moves eastwards and strengthens, but this power is predicted to diminish as it hits the UK and Ireland, and will lose the "hurricane" status it currently has.

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^ Satellite image taken of Ophelia

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^ Ophelia is not expected to be strong enough to be labelled as a hurricane when it hits Britain & Ireland, but will still pack strong winds.

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Hurricane Ophelia

Update: Ophelia has been elevated to a current (22:00) Catagory 3 Status Hurricane.

Ireland has issued a Red Weather Alert, Red warnings refer to the most severe weather conditions in which people are advised to “take action to protect themselves and/or their property”. The warning is in place for counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork and Kerry from 9am on Monday until 3am on Tuesday. Winds may be as damaging as those caused by ex-hurricane Debbie in September 1961, which killed a total of 18 people (12 in the Republic and 6 in Northern Ireland). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Debbie_(1961)

Other areas affected: Highlands & Outer Hebrides; North West England; SW Scotland, Lothian Borders; South West England; Strathclyde; Wales; the Isle of Man.

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UK Met Office Issues Warnings

Amber Alert status has been issued to: Northern Ireland
Yellow Alert status has been issued to: Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, Highlands & Eilean Siar, North East England, North West England, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, South West England, Strathclyde Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

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The Great Storm of 1987 - 30 Year Anniversary
Ask people about the Great Storm which ravaged the south of England in 1987 and those old enough to remember will reply "that" forecast by weatherman Michael Fish, or Sevenoaks losing six of the trees that gave the town its name. What is mentioned far less is the loss of 18 lives.


Michael Fish makes his infamous BBC Weather forecast the day before, on 15th October 1987!


BBC Six O'Clock News, 16th October 1987


ITV/ITN News At Ten, 16th October 1987


Documentary of the 1987 Great Storm, first broadcast in 2007.

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Ireland: Three dead, 365,000 homes, businesses without power
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(RTE)
Three people have died in storm-related incidents in Louth, Tipperary and Waterford.

This afternoon, a man died when a tree struck the car he was travelling in on a local road in Co Louth. Gardaí say the alarm was raised at about 2.45pm in Ravensdale, Dundalk.They say a recovery operation is under way.

A man in his early 30s died while in the course of clearing a fallen tree in Co Tipperary. The man sustained the fatal injury while clearing a fallen tree at Ballybrado, Cahir at about 12.30pm. His body has been removed to Clonmel Hospital.

The first fatality caused by storm Ophelia was a woman in her 50s who died when a tree fell on the car she was driving in Co Waterford this morning. The incident happened on the R671 near the village of Aglish at 11.40am.

A woman passenger in her 70s was taken to University Hospital Waterford with non-life threatening injuries. Gardaí have appealed for people in the area to remain indoors and not to travel unless the journey is absolutely necessary.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken to British Prime Minister Theresa May. A Downing Street spokesman said: "On Storm Ophelia, the Prime Minister expressed her sympathies for the loss of life and said the UK government stood ready to provide any support if requested."

Advice from Government remains to stay indoors as the storm passes over Ireland.

UK: Storm Ophelia turns the sky brown and the sun red!
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(Portsmouth News)
A red sun spotted in the sky over parts of England has been caused by Storm Ophelia. The unusual occurrence was seen in the south west this morning, with a number of people sharing photos and video online of the phenomenon.

Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge said the former hurricane is pulling air and dust up from southern Europe and Africa. "It's all connected with Ophelia, on the eastern side of the low pressure system air is coming up in the southern direction," he said. "Air is being pulled from southern Europe and Africa and that air contains a lot of dust. "So it's most likely the appearance of sunset at midday is caused by the particles scattering the light and giving the appearance of a red sun. "It's certainly spectacular at the moment and quite a talking point, we've had a lot of calls about it."

Smoke from forest fires in Spain and Portugal has also contributed to the phenomena, with some in the UK reporting a distinct "burning smell".
The light dropped to such low levels, that street lights came on at 2pm!

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^ London... obviously.

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Bookies are now predicting a 2/1 chance of a White Christmas after a bit of ground frost swept across the lawns of southern England last night.... ;)

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Hurricane Ophelia @ 1:32

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Nights are getting brighter - but not in a good way.
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(The Guardian)
The world’s nights are getting alarmingly brighter – bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included – as light pollution encroaches on darkness almost everywhere.

Satellite observations made by researchers during five consecutive Octobers show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by 2% a year from 2012 to 2016. So did night time brightness.

Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.

The observations indicate stable levels of night light in the US, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. But light pollution is almost certainly on the rise in those countries given this elusive blue light, according to Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German research centre for geosciences and the lead author of the study published in Science Advances.

Also on the rise is the spread of light into the hinterlands and overall increased use. The findings shatter the long-held notion that more energy-efficient lighting would decrease usage on the global – or at least a national – scale.

“Honestly, I had thought and assumed and hoped that with LEDs we were turning the corner. There’s also a lot more awareness of light pollution,” Kyba told reporters by phone from Potsdam. “It is quite disappointing.”

The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.

People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.

About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.

Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.

More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.

Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.

One of the co-authors, Franz Holker of the Leibniz institute of freshwater ecology and inland fisheries in Berlin, said things were at the critical point.

“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.

Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.

For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.

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It bloody hot in old Sydney town, glad I'm not out at penrith 47.1

A little bit better where I am 44.3


https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/ ... to-mid-40s

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Any chance of rain at the SCG? :oops:

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2HeadsBetter wrote:Any chance of rain at the SCG? :oops:

Going to be hot and humid with the chance of occasional shower

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From today, the UK has officially banned plastic microbeads, usually found in cosmetics and cleaning products.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/worl ... kes-effect

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BBC Replaces Weather Forecast Graphics


The BBC has changed its weather data provider from The Met Office to MeteoGroup. A new set of graphics has been designed for forecasts and the "anti-Scottish" tilted map has been replaced after 14 years with a new "flat" map which brings the size of Scotland & Northern Ireland to their real proportional size compared to England & Wales.

However, BBC Radio 4's shipping forecast and BBC severe weather warnings will continue to be supplied by the Met Office.




Here, for comparison is the last Met Office forecast with the older graphics.

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Earthquake felt across parts of UK

A minor earthquake with 4.7 magnitude struck at 14:31 and affected parts of Wales and England. Shaking has been reported across south Wales, the south west of England and the Midlands. The British Geological Survey said the epicentre was approximately 20km north-north-east of Swansea and at a depth of 7.4km. Events of this magnitude only happen in the UK every 2-3 years, it added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43097113

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(London Evening Standard)
Scotland's snow-busting vehicles have their work cut out and Transport Scotland's Trunk Road Gritter Tracker shows where they are in real time.

The map reveals that many of the trucks have entertaining names such as "Sir Salter Scott", "Gritallica" and "Grittie McVittie".
Grittie McVittie is seen serving the Glasgow area. One is even named "Sir Andy Flurry". Others have more straightforward names, with one called "Rainbow" and one simply known as "Jack".
Trunk Road Gritter Tracker: http://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/web ... c0bd0b1aab

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Germany to ban diesel cars in some cities.
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The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled that the cities of Stuttgart and Dusseldorf will be allowed to ban diesel cars as part of environmental moves.
https://www.whatcar.com/news/diesel-car ... an-cities/
http://www.itv.com/news/2018-02-27/germ ... pollution/

Meanwhile, they continue to build and sell their poorly assembled, overly expensive and emission test cheating diesel cars to other nations....

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