Listen to Weather Forecasters (not right-wing media)

Recycled greetings card

It is true that UK weather forecasts can sometimes go on longer than most people need or like. Most people simply want to know the weather!

But for the most part, most of the weather presenters on TV are qualified meteorologists, and know their onions, when it comes to both weather and climate science. Most trained at the Met Office.

After President Trump said that ‘climate change is a con’, ITV Morning’s presenter Laura Tobin has publicly offered to discuss climate science with him, saying she is available to go through the data with his administration.

She obviously frequently reports on human-caused climate change weather events, like floods, rising sea levels and melting glaciers. So far she has not received a response.

How much of climate change is caused by humans? Nearly all of it. Dr John Tobin (climate scientist)

Recently on GB News, one presenter (unbelievably the previous wonderful Coast presenter Neil Oliver who should know his nature) asked people to persuade him that ‘climate change wasn’t a scam’.

He said that the media and MPs were scaremongering people to be ‘‘frightened of summer’ predictions of at least 40 degrees.

Corrected by Tomasz (the science)

But BBC meteorologist Tomasz Schafermaker says this was air temperature (above 1 metre). Not ground temperatures, which will have been higher (sometimes in excess of 50 C). This is the problem when we have MPs and media pundits deciding how serious climate change is, rather than listening to scientists.

Tomasz is often called ‘the nation’s favourite weather forecaster’, using his highly trained mind to give easy forecasts. He even sometimes presents Radio’s 4’s Shipping Forecast (the nation’s lullaby). Born in Poland, he has a BSc (Hons) in Meteorology, so likely knows more about extreme weather and climate change than scaremongers and politicians who deny the facts.

Recently, when a GB News presenter called out wildfires in Greece as ‘scaremongering’ about higher temperatures and making people ‘terrified of the weather’, Tomasz gently corrected him:

This is absolutely not true. The temperature being reported is AIR temperature above ground (over 1 metre) not the GROUND temperature. Ground temperature. This will have been even higher in many of those locations, well in excess of 50 C.

Here’s another statement from Bob Ward (policy and communications director at Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics:

GB News is letting down its audience, by giving platforms to individuals who have strong opinions about climate change, but are unable or unwilling to tell the truth about it. Robust debate about climate policies is good. But needs to be focused on facts and evidence, rather than ideology and propaganda.

In All Weathers (a journey through rain, fog, wind and ice)

In All Weathers is a beautifully written guide to all of Britain’s weathers, told through a series of interesting walks. From the howling winds of Skye to the fen-sucked fogs of East Anglia.

Read our posts on keeping safe in snow and frosty mornings.

Weather in Britain is often deemed simply as good (sunny) or bad (anything else). But changeable weather like we have, should be celebrated. It transforms the light, textures and colours of a landscape, influences our mood and behaviour and of course keeps England a green and pleasant land, through lots of rain!

Britain’s weather has inspired poets and artists, seeped into our language and shaped our way of life. New worlds have emerged – shrouded in fog or refreshed by rain.

This book sees the author walk across Britain through rain, fog, wind, ice and snow, to look at the natural world and where our weather comes from, and how it is changing. It’s time to throw open the doors to embrace the wildness of weather!