Perish the thought.
In a recent study published by University College London, the projected climate change for Richmond & Northallerton over the next decade shows some notable shifts1‘Climate Change by Constituency over Great Britain’. 2021. Ucl.ac.uk <https://github-pages.ucl.ac.uk/UK-climate-by-mp/?var=prjja&period=proj> [accessed 10 July 2024]. Summer rainfall is anticipated to increase by 2.7%, while the annual temperature to rise by 0.76°C.
To place this in context, historical data from 1981 to 2010 reveals a 3.6% rise in summer rainfall and a 0.94°C increase in annual temperature.
This year, the United Kingdom has experienced one of the wettest winters on record. The study confirms a trend of increasing rainfall during both winter and summer over recent decades. Indeed, as we find ourselves in the midst of July, much of Yorkshire remains under a disappointingly damp and cloudy spell.
Undoubtedly, this will captivate the peculiar interests of those eccentric individuals on the periphery of society—the climate change deniers. These remarkable minds may also advance other outlandish notions, ranging from Islamist and deep state plots to the extraordinary claim that Israel passively observed the October seventh attacks. Their repertoire of peculiarities extends to theories on COVID, the omnipotence of the UN, and the mythical Uniparty.
Returning to the topic of the weather, some meteorologists now refer to our typical summer conditions from late June as the “return of the westerlies.” This phenomenon describes the resumption of an unsettled and changeable weather pattern, with areas of low pressure and rain-bearing fronts moving eastwards across the UK from the Atlantic. This follows a period in late spring and early summer when westerly winds are at their weakest.
Previously, only devotees of Wimbledon tennis and these bedraggled sheep on Kildale Moor were familiar with this occurrence. However, it is now gaining quasi-official recognition.
- 1‘Climate Change by Constituency over Great Britain’. 2021. Ucl.ac.uk <https://github-pages.ucl.ac.uk/UK-climate-by-mp/?var=prjja&period=proj> [accessed 10 July 2024]
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