Friday 18 April 2008

Overheating Britain


On April 28 last year, the Independent printed an article by Michael McCarthy, then the paper's environment editor, under the title:

Overheating Britain: April temperatures break all records

Will this be the summer when Britain reaches 40°C and the effects of climate change are painfully brought home?

You can read it here.

It began with this statement:

'The possibility is growing that Britain in 2007 may experience a summer of unheard-of high temperatures, with the thermometer even reaching 40C, or 104F, a level never recorded in history.'

Now, as we all know, however freakishly warm last April was, the summer as a whole was anything but, as those affected by the floods in late July can testify only too well. This, of course, despite the fact that the Met. Office in January had predicted that 2007 was set to be the 'warmest on record', a fact faithfully reported by the BBC.

I write this as one of the grimmest, wettest and coldest Aprils unfolds, day after day of shivering temperatures and howling winds. And rain, Above all, lots and lots of rain. There is, moreover, if the forecasts are to be believed, no end in sight to this miserable weather.

I know it is not yet the end of the month but I have yet to read anything anywhere suggesting that these freakishly low temperatures are evidence that global warming is not happening, rather the opposite if anything.

Where is Michael McCarthy when you need him?

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