Study forecasts global increase in freak weather
Martin Hickman
Following stints with Reuters and the Press Association, Martin Hickman joined The Independent as a news editor in 2001. He became the Consumer Affairs Correspondent in September 2005 and has run the paper's trenchant campaigns on packaging, bank charges and factory-farmed chicken. He writes on subjects as diverse as food, finance, energy and fashion. With Tom Watson, he is author of a new book on the phone hacking scandal, Dial M for Murdoch - News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Related articles
Heatwaves and flooding are more likely in coming decades because of climate change, according to a new report which found that global warming probably caused freak weather around the world last year.
The burst of heat in the UK in November and Texas’s driest summer for 100 years were more likely to have happened because of climate change, according to the study.
However other freak weather events such as floods in Thailand were unlikely to have been caused by an increase in man-made greenhouse gases, the scientists explained in the Bulletin of the American Metereological Society.
They calculated that the chances of the exceptionally cold December experienced in the UK in 2011 had halved; but it still happened – as a result of natural variations in the weather.
The research into “climate attribution”, which included a contribution from the UK Met Office’s Peter Stott, looked at six key weather events shortly after they happened.
Dr Stott, head of climate monitoring and attribution, said: “While we didn’t find that climate change has affected the odds of all the extreme weather events we looked at, we did see that some events were significantly more likely. Overall, we’re seeing that human influence is having a marked impact on some types of extreme weather.”
He said the extremely warm November was 60 times more likely to have occurred as a result of climate change than in the 1960s.
From the blogs
Dish of the Day: Lily Vanilli’s recipe for making a human brain cake
A slight deviation from style this week and admittedly a bit weird, but at least I can finally say I...
Owen Howells: From the UK to Australia and back again (and again!)
Owen Howells is a DJ/producer who grew up in Australia but was born in the UK. He came back to the U...
Justice for sale but who pays for the cost?
Justice, the bedrock of our society is for sale under the Government’s latest plan to sell legal aid...
Dish of the Day: How to… make flower power cocktails
Take inspiration from the green-fingered brigade who have been showing off their creativity at the R...
- 1 Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alright as long as you do good
- 2 What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
- 3 'Something passed underneath us, quite close': Airbus A320 has close encounter with UFO
- 4 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
- 5 Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Comments