As The UK Heatwave Dissipates, The Forces Are Marshalling for Next Year..

The El Niño event that is developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest in living memory, the Met Office has warned. The powerful natural climate phenomenon pushes up global temperatures and can increase the risks of extreme weather. Added to the effects of human-induced climate change, the Met Office is warning that it is "very likely" to mean 2027 is the hottest year on record.

I'd be worried, if I didn;t remember all the forecasts the Met Office made that didn't materialise.... 

There is growing evidence that weather patterns around the world are already being affected, with below-average monsoon rains in India and suppressed hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean. El Niño could put the UK at greater risk of a wet, stormy autumn.

Given monsoons and hurricanes kill people, isn't that rather a good thing? And a wet stormy Autumn is a typical season in the UK, isnt it? 

"We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event", said Prof Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the UK Met Office. "I have never seen an El Niño signal this intense in our forecasts."

Well, we'll see.  

Danger, Danger Will Robinson!

Amber heat health alerts are in place across southern and eastern England, with a heatwave set to develop in the coming days. Temperatures are set to climb above 30C (86F) on Friday, possibily up to 32C (90F) in south-east England, and potentially up to 34C (93F) or higher by Tuesday.

We used to call this 'summer', didn't we?

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber alerts covering the east, south-east and south-west of England, which are valid until 20:00 BST on Tuesday. Yellow alerts are valid across the Midlands during the same period.Amber heat health alerts are issued when high temperatures are likely to have a significant impact on health and social care services.

It will be a different story for Scotland and Northern Ireland with outbreaks of heavy rain.

That’s the sort of British summer that they are more used to. 

So Much For The Wisdom Of Crowds, Then

 That's if this is true, and since it's in the 'Guardian', caveat emptor...

Political elites are out of step with the public appetite for net zero, according to analysis that identifies rightwing media narratives as fuelling a false backlash against climate action. Media coverage of net zero is more than twice as likely to be negative than public attitudes and is driving a false perception that net zero policies are unpopular with voters, the analysis found.

They probably are, until the bills start to mount up. 

This echo chamber of elite opinion, the analysis says, has led to a situation where MPs significantly underestimate public support for climate policies and overestimate public opposition to local clean energy infrastructure projects.

As if public suppotrt matters to prospective (and standing) MPs anymore. Of course, the people pushing this theory are the lanyard classes again..

Becca Massey-Chase, the head of citizen engagement at the Institute for Public Policy Research, who coauthored the analysis, said the research showed claims of a voter backlash against net zero were “largely a political myth”.She said: “The British public continues to support climate action.... The real danger is not public opinion – it is elite division and media narratives creating a false sense of risk.”

The analysis, jointly prepared by the IPPR, a progressive thinktank, and Persuasion UK, a non-profit that researches influences on public opinion, noted that the UK’s increasingly assertive far right caricatured net zero as a threat to UK sovereignty.

See?

...a strong core of 40% of voters remain strongly behind net zero, almost double the 24% who are implacably opposed to it.

 Until they have to pay for them, then they change their tune. But by then, the song's over amd the musucians have packed up their instruments and gone home.

Hang The Cost, Full Steam Ahead

Peak rail fares have been scrapped on ScotRail trains, meaning passengers will no longer pay higher prices for travelling on busy weekday trains.

Making people pay the same price for something that's in greater demand? Adam Smith must be rolling in his grave.

The Scottish government-owned operator said its aim was to get more commuters out of cars and onto trains.

Ah, I see. It's for Gaia so any economic nonsense can be excused. They've already rejected it once:

A pilot scheme scrapping peak-time fares, a policy championed by the Scottish Greens, was introduced in 2023 but ended in September 2024 after ministers said the costs of the subsidy could not be justified. However, in his programme for government speech in May, First Minister John Swinney announced that peak fares would again be scrapped.

Who said Scotland wasn't a deeply unserious country? 

Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Edinburgh on Monday, he said it would help people to move "from their cars onto trains", which would provide environmental benefits. He added: "This is financially sustainable because it's an investment in the rail network and it's an investment in the people of Scotland. "People in Scotland simply travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow on a daily basis will see their travel costs fall by almost 50%. That's a massive saving when people are struggling financially."

But how are you going to pay for it. John?  

Maybe Because We’ve Imported People At A Staggering Rate And Failed To Upgrade The Infrastructure To Cope?

Scotland is known for its rainfall, famed as a lush, green, soggy nation. Not this year. Water levels are way below average after the driest spring since 1964 and a hot summer. The problem is especially acute in the east of the country, where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is now introducing curbs on some water use.

I mean, try playing any building/management type sim, keep up the residential zone creation without increasing service capacity, and you're heading for failure! 

It said two catchment areas - Ythan in Aberdeenshire and North Fife - had reached significant scarcity, the highest level of alert.

Gosh, it's a mystery to rival Loch Ness, isn't it?