Human actions boosted heatwave odds

Climate change driven by humans made heatwave “twice as likely”

Climate change resulting from human activities made the current Europe-wide heatwave more than twice as likely to occur, say scientists.

Their preliminary report found that the “signal of climate change is unambiguous” in this summer’s heat.

They also say the scale of the heatwave in the Arctic is unprecedented.

BBC News

It’s not so bad now, but I’ve just learnt that it’s going to get very hot again towards the end of the week. It looks like going to be the hottest summer since goodness knows when!

I’ve heard that spirits from the other side find it more difficult to come through to our side in places with hot climates than in those where it is not so hot. If this theory is true, then this heatwave is not conducive to spiritualism!

Too hot? In 1858 a heatwave turned London into a stinking sewer

Suffering in the hot weather? Spare a thought then for the population of London back in 1858, a year of sky-high temperatures and the Great Stink.

That year, the London Standard reported temperatures of over 30°C by the middle of June and the weather stayed hot for several weeks.

There was no air conditioning, no refrigeration, it was really hard to keep food fresh and there was no proper sewerage system, according to Museum of London curator Beverley Cook.

BBC News

Heatwave blamed for record A&E attendances in England

The heatwave is being blamed for record numbers of people going to A&E in England in July.

As temperatures soared, attendances reached more than 2.1 million – the highest since records began in 2010.

The figures are part of a raft of data released on Thursday by NHS England.

BBC News

Glorious late summer harvest expected after 2018’s heatwave

The i today has a story on the prospect of a post-heatwave bumper harvest this year.

“The heatwave is leading to the best and earliest harvest of late summer crops such as apples, plums, grapes, tomatoes and even olives, in years, experts said,” writes Emily Beament.

She explains how the cold start to 2018 also helped to set up conditions for a good yield – by forcing the blossoms to appear late and so escape being ravaged by any late frost.

Online version of the story

The name El Niño comes from the Spanish for “the (boy) child” – and should be spelt with a tilde (~) over the second letter n! What the fuck is wrong with British journalists who don’t bother with it?