The Weather Club, produced by the British Royal Meteorological Society “for a nation completely obsessed by weather”, looks at and explains the weather from an international perspective, works with kids, and provides a magazine scientists and weather nerds enjoy. Or just check out the gallery of beautiful photos.
Some recent articles:
2010: The year of extremes
[T]he trend in 2010 has been for record breaking highs, with several countries experiencing their highest ever temperatures: 49.6°C [121.3°F] in Dongola, Sudan (June); 52°C [125.6°F] in Basra, Iraq (June); 44°C [111°F] in Yashkul, Russia (July); 50.4°C [122.7°F] in Doha, Qatar (July); 37.2°C [99°F] in Joensuu, Finland (July) and 53.5°C [128.3°F] in Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan (June), the fourth highest temperature ever recorded. While we expect to see the odd record breaking high each year, this year has been unusual in that we’ve seen record after record broken.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) figures show that the combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for March, April , May and June all reached their highest ever level this year. The June figure continued another trend by being the 304th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.
Monsoon rains threaten flood disaster
Huge flooding in south Asia, millions affected, and I haven’t seen it covered in my news sources. Date: September 12, 2011
The recent flooding in southern Pakistan is threatening to spiral into another humanitarian disaster as the area prepares to be hit by more rain. Officials are now saying that more than 200 people have died and millions continue to be affected after two weeks of flooding in Pakistan’s southern Sindh region. Pakistan’s disaster management body told reporters that the situation is worsening every day as water levels continue to rise. The UN has begun relief work in the area but more rain has been forecast for the coming days.
Meanwhile, in India’s eastern Orissa state more than one million people have been displaced and 16 killed as floods sweep through the province. About 2,600 villages have been submerged across 19 districts. The army and navy have been called in to help, as many villagers are still stranded and dependent on food drops from helicopters.
After the 2010 Pakistani floods, the report was that climate change had not led to more rain each year in South Asia, but apparently, rain fell in more intense episodes, leading to more floods. I don’t know if this is still true.
Weather balloons used to probe wind farm effects
The project…hopes to improve the ability of the renewable energy industry to accurately forecast winds at the height of the turbine blades.
