Weatherwatch: The 1975 storm that unleashed record rain on north London
This storm brought an astonishing 170.8mm (6.72in) of precipitation over a 24-hour period, the largest daily total recorded in the London area. Almost all of it fell in a colossal downpour of rain and hail from 5.30pm to 8.00pm.
According to the New York Times travel writer John Hillaby, the rain was so intense it 'fell in misty sheets with a noise like boiling fat'.
Stormwater sewers were quickly overwhelmed and the rivers Tyburn, Fleet and Brent burst their banks to flood gardens and streets. Torrents of water flowed into the underground, causing electrical faults and shutting down the Bakerloo and Metropolitan lines. Reports described cars floating down streets that had turned into canals.
Overflows of raw sewage mixed with the flood water, and hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes as basement flats were inundated. Newspaper photographs showed evacuees in small boats pulled by emergency workers.
In a subsequent inquiry, the chair of the Greater London council public services committee insisted the sewers were in fact adequate. But, like other sewers, they were never intended to handle a deluge of such biblical proportions.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Alongside the heatwave, are we seeing an early autumn in the UK?
It's still hot in many parts of the UK, but some tree leaves are turning yellow and blackberries are so ripe in hedges that they're tasting alcoholic. Councils in London have issued "do not sit under trees" warnings because of the dangers of dying branches suddenly going on? Is it still summer, or has autumn started already? And does it matter anyway?There is no formal definition of "early autumn" but experts say signs of the season, like leaves falling or apples being ready to pick, are actually nature becoming stressed by the long hot and dry a potentially historic one at that - the Met Office says this summer is on track to be one of the warmest since records began in 1884. In Cardiff, Wanda O'Connor has grown melons outside for the first time since she started growing food six years shows me ripening limes and lemons inside her allotment greenhouse. "It's 38-39C in here," she says, pointing to a red peppers, courgettes and lots of tomatoes have all thrived in the above-average temperatures and extra sunshine the same time, classic autumn fruits like blackberries and apples - normally ready in September - are hanging off the are still gathering data about whether this is record-breaking. Blackberries were seen in London on 22 June, according to the Woodland Trust. By contrast the earliest in 2024 was 4 July in Southampton - but scientists need more information to be certain about the long-term Wanda in Cardiff, this has meant more food to take home for dinner, but it's harder work than usual for her to water her plants. "In a normal year I'd come every three days, but this year it's every day. If I don't, the plants will die," she across the UK have, too, seen early harvests with some crops struggling in the heat, prompting concerns about food month, the Environment Agency said North West England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and West Midlands were in drought. Parts of Wales, including the Cardiff area, have had the driest six months since 1976 and are in drought as well. The UK has had 71% of the average rainfall for the season so far when it should be 79% by this date, according to the Met Office. And we've had 89% of the average sunshine hours for summer. The Met Office says we would expect 79% by this change is affecting the timings of biological events including spring and autumn, according to the Met Office, although the level of change varies the Botanical Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire, Luke Cheesman is having to work harder than usual to keep the garden healthy and attractive for seen signs of stress like tree leaves turning yellow and falling, and branches drooping - so alongside extra water, he's mulching trees adds organic material is added on top of the soil to keep it moist. He says this is good advice for those with plants or trees suffering at home. "We've had three almost back-to-back heatwaves. It's not giving the trees much chance to recover," he a similar story at Kew Gardens in London, where head of tree collections Kevin Walker says the last drought in 2022 killed nearly 460 of his trees - and he's seeing the same stress oaks are losing leaves on the canopy and producing deadwood, he says, and Norway Maple and magnolias are showing signs of stress. "They're throwing their leaves, and will try and sit it out till next year," he says, while "summer branch drop" - where trees try to save energy by losing branches - is also happening which can be dangerous to people nearby."It's a live fast, die young strategy. That may work for a one in 10 year event. But instead of a drought or stress period being a one-in-10 year event, it's becoming a one in every two or three years," he says. But does it matter if autumn conditions come early? The Wildlife Trusts says this is a sign of "nature shutting down" and that it is likely to have impacts into the winter and next year."Some things are not dying, but they're not thriving, they're not growing, they're not photosynthesizing. They're going into survival mode," says Kathryn Brown, director of climate change and evidence at the Wildlife Trusts."The overriding thing is it's making everything much more chaotic for wildlife," she which feed badgers and hedgehogs, are living inside rock hard and dry soil, meaning the animals could struggle to dig to find them and may have to travel further for will look for fruits like blackberries to "sustain them through the autumn and winter," she says. But where the crop comes early, the birds could go are also showing signs of shutting down for the winter, after flowering plants finished producing pollen and nectar in the hot weather. That could leave bees without enough will take time to work out the role of climate change in the heatwaves this year but scientists are clear that it will have boosted the heat."I'm very worried about what we're seeing already, and this is just a point that we're passing through on the way to much more extreme conditions," says Kathryn."Species have evolved to exist in a seasonal cycle. If that cycle is breaking down, those species will break down as well. We know it's a real risk we'll lose huge chunks of nature due to climate impacts."
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
European wildfire smoke dampens UK heatwave with unusually hazy conditions
Smoke from wildfires in Southern Europe has brought hazy conditions to the UK, disrupting the current heatwave, forecasters have said. The UK experienced the fourth heatwave of the summer this week, with some areas seeing the mercury climb above 33C in the hottest places. However, the Met Office said "smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK'. This means the UK should expect "enhanced sunsets and sunrises in the coming days - deeper reds and oranges thanks to light scattering,' the forecaster added. Scientists say the phenomenon is linked to two processes known as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering. Rayleigh scattering, caused by tiny air molecules, normally makes the sky appear blue by scattering shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, according to the Royal Meteorological Society. But larger particles released by wildfires, such as soot and ash, trigger Mie scattering, which scatters all wavelengths more evenly and allows longer red and orange wavelengths to dominate. Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told Sky News the haze "will hang around for the next few days". The Met Office's forecast for Sunday says low clouds retreating towards the North Sea means there will be 'plenty of sunshine for most'. There will be strong winds in the South West of England, and it will remain warm along the eastern coast. Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. An early two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, said. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days.
Sky News
8 hours ago
- Sky News
Why wildfires in Spain and Portugal are having an impact on weather in the UK
Smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal has brought hazy conditions to the UK, breaking up last week's spell of very hot weather, forecasters have said. In a post on the X social media platform on Saturday, the Met Office said: "Smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK." The Met Office said the UK should expect "enhanced sunsets and sunrises in the coming days - deeper reds & oranges thanks to light scattering." The latest forecast where you are Sky weather producer Kirsty McCabe said "the very hot weather is easing, thanks to a strengthening easterly wind as well as cloudier skies". She said Saturday's haze is down to "the terrible wildfires that have been raging across Spain and Portugal, and the smoke has made its way to our shores, along with some Saharan dust". While the smoke particles shouldn't affect the UK's air quality, she said they will "enhance the orange and red colours of our sunsets and sunrises". Wildfire smoke affects the colour of the sky through processes known as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, she explained. On reaching the Earth's atmosphere, the sun's light bumps into tiny molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which scatter or deflect the light. Kirsty McCabe said Mie scattering occurs "when the [smoke] particles are much larger and closer to the wavelengths of light. "That means the smoke particles in the air scatter all colours of light more equally, leading to a hazy or milky appearance of the sun and sky." Rayleigh scattering sees the shorter wavelengths of light, blues and violets, scattered most strongly, while red light, having the longest wavelength, is scattered the least, she explained. "At dusk and dawn, the sun's rays travel through a greater distance of atmosphere to reach our eyes, so the blue light has been scattered even more. "With most of the shorter blue and violet wavelengths filtered out, along with some green and yellow, that leaves us with the warmer hues of the reds and oranges." Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said the haze "will hang around for the next few days". He predicted temperatures in the mid to high twenties, rising to 28C in some parts, with hazy sunshine moving from southwest England into Wales and Northern Ireland. At least seven people have died in wildfires in Spain as firefighters battled 14 major blazes on Friday, fanned by strong southerly winds and high temperatures from a nearly two-week heatwave. An area the size of London has been destroyed by wildfires so far this year, with western Spain especially badly affected. Southern Europe is having one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years, with France, Greece, Turkey and Albania among the countries affected. While Southern Europe lived through wildfires, droughts and heatwaves long before humans started to change the climate by burning fossil fuels, hotter global temperatures can supercharge some of the conditions for these types of extreme weather, according to climate scientists.
