Feeling effects of climate change

ENJOYING a stroll over to Greys Court last week, I was caught out in yet another torrential downpour.

Back home, as I wrung out my socks (and other articles of clothing — let’s just say no more than I was soaked down to the skin), it seemed that the heatwave currently setting record temperatures in southern Europe, Asia and the US was very far away from Britain’s soggy July.

Our damp and cool summer days also seem a long way away from last summer when the Met Office reminds us that on July 19, 2022 Britain hit 40C for the first time and we all sweltered through boiling hot days and stifling nights.

Climate is a complicated thing. Long-term trends can be masked by individual weather events and the interaction of different processes is still not always fully understood.

However, the latest heatwave is producing some startling new records. China recorded its highest ever temperature of 52.2C on July 16 and temperatures in Sardinia topped 46C.

The hottest place on earth, Death Valley in California, was expected to exceed its previous highest recorded temperature of 55C.

Frightening as these individual figures may be, the averages and long-term trends are what should really concern us.

On July 3 the global average temperature reached 17.01C, a record high and breaking the previous record of 16.92C set in August 2016, according to the US National Centre for Environmental Prediction. In the UK June was, on average, the warmest on record.

We are fortunate to have the world-leading Walker Institute for Climate Change at the University of Reading and I approached the experts there for their views on the latest heatwave.

Richard Allan, who is professor of climate science, pointed out that hot, dry weather in one area and wetter weather elsewhere are two sides of the same effect.

He said: “Climate change is making heatwaves hotter and longer lasting and a warmer, thirstier atmosphere is capable of sapping moisture more effectively from one region and subsuming this excess water into monsoons and storm systems elsewhere, intensifying rainfall and associated flooding.”

Hannah Cloke, who is professor of hydrology, added: “Sea level rises, melting ice, extreme heatwaves, intense rainfall, wildfires, drought and floods are cropping up in many parts of the world at the same time.

“In previous heatwaves, such as Britain’s hot summer of 1976, other parts of the globe had a relatively cool year.

“Today’s extremes of weather are increasingly throwing everything everywhere all at once.”

Keeping homes cool in the summer will become as important as keeping them warm and cosy in the winter.

Although it may not seem obvious, insulation is an effective way of keeping your home cool when it’s hot outside as well as warmer and cheaper to heat when it’s cold.

This is because insulation works by controlling the transfer of heat, whether that’s preventing warm air from leaking out or hot air from coming in.

Thick curtains help to prevent heat loss in the winter and can also help to keep your house cooler in the summer.

Swap thick dark curtains for light coloured curtains or blinds and once you have let in cool morning or night air, close them and they will help to keep the cool air inside.

Finally, some encouraging news. China, the world’s largest emitter of CO2, now has more solar generation capacity than the rest of the world combined, putting it on course to meet its target of generating a third of its power from renewable sources by 2030.

Here in the UK, my “Grid Carbon” app shows me that even on a windless, not very sunny day we are still meeting about 30 per cent our electricity demand from renewable sources.