Flurry

Day 221 #365DaysWild

Today, little more than a flurry of snow which turned to rain. Worse nearby in Derbyshire where a friend couldn’t travel to meet for lunch due to the roads. Our son finished work before midday.

Snowdrops

The cold winter of 1963 is within my memory. The  last properly cold weather and the nation was paralysed. Chest deep in snow drifts. Cold, wet shoes - I remember chilblains on my feet.

Winters have become milder due to climate change and thermal pollution. Old folklore had this month as ‘February fill-dyke’ as the frozen conditions thawed. 

Look back to the pre-industrial revolution records of Gilbert White in Hampshire in the 18th century.

Winter aconites 

Unimaginably to us he records over a month of frost in February. Snow above the wheels of carts. Tracks impassable. In Hampshire.

This met office graph shows the sharp rise in average temperatures as the Industrial revolution  began. 

2023 was the hottest year on record. We’ve just finished with the hottest January.

The Met Office said many extremes, including longer heatwaves, heavier rainfall, increased drought and more fire weather, were becoming more severe due to human-caused climate change.

For 18 months, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has failed to appoint a new chair of the independent committee that advises ministers on emissions targets. Today, Labour leader Keir Starmer has renaged on his green investment plan.