Summer Washout!

After several months of water restrictions and we have just had the wettest June on record and all the water companies have lifted hosepipe bans.  For information, including how the Jet Stream is causing our soggy summer, try these links:  The Guardian or The BBC.  For facts and figures about June's record breaking weather. look here.  But it's not just the UK that's suffered from flooding recently - this article  is about floods in Southern R|ussia and explains how human actions and mismanagement of rivers may have made the situation much worse.

Climate Change in the Himalayas

Climate change is happening quickly in the Himalayas, and there will be huge impacts on the people in Southern Asia who depend on the glaciers for their water supply. An expedition is being led by the Mountain Institute to see these impacts first hand. You can read about the expedition here, and you can follow the expedition blog here. The blog includes a video clip too.

A Long Hot Summer Ahead?

Netweather.tv is forecasting us a long hot summer, with echoes of 1976 - too long ago for any of you to know about, but as a 9 year old, I remember enjoying it! The reasoning behind their forecast is explained here, but how accurate will it be? It's probably worth mentioning that the Met Office has abandoned its seasonal forecasting after the predicted "barbecue summer" failed to materialise last year!

The Monsoon Arrives

This week marks the arrival of the south Asia monsoon. You can watch a BBC video clip about when the monsoon normally bursts over India here. Last year, the monsoon brought catastrophic flooding to Pakistan - you can watch a video clip including satellite images here. If you need a reminder of what causes the monsoon rains, you will find it here.

Drought in China

Parts of China are suffering a record breaking drought. The Yangtze River (the longest river in Asia) is very low - you can see pictures that show how severe the drought is here.

The 3 Gorges Dam on the Yangtze has been opened to allow more water to flow downstream, but some people believe that the building of the dam has made the situation worse. This article explains what has been happening.

Bad News on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The International Energy Agency reported this week that we are unlikely to be able to limit temperature increases caused by human activity to 2C. You can read about the report here. The latest on talks aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions are ongoing - you can read about them here. The Guardian's Climate Change section is a good place to find out the latest information - don't forget your text books are already out of date on this topic!