You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
If you take a look at the European weather map you'll see that it's over 40°C again and the Summer has only just started. Overnight temperatures are even more remarkable.
Then have a look at the exponentially rising Hawaii CO2 graph, the methane leaks maps and the rate of glacier melting.
And yet our leaders have thrown in the towel on climate objectives, Stop Oil got thrown in clink, and gas central heating, ICE cars and flying to Mallorca/New Zealand are still the norme.
So when I drop down to the plain I'll just have to smile, do as little as possible, douse my clothes in water and drink plenty while there's still some water left.
Humans are stupid. Welcome to the Pliocene and look forward to the Miocene soon.
But according to facebook scientists we were told in 70s that we’d be in an ice age now and under ice or was that everyone under water. It’s confusing listening to the comments.
our leaders have thrown in the towel
indeed and the British royals have just announced the royal train is to get the chop and instead a couple of new choppers have been ordered to replace it :-/
Sadly you're screaming at the (ever increasing and very hot) wind.
Sometimes you need to add smileys, Drac, if not it's confusing listening to you comments. 😉
Quite noticeable in financial services how 2 or 3 years ago they were full of 'being part of the transition' and 'moving away from financing oil and gas'. They all dropped it simultaneously in a coordinated way. Thoroughly depressing.
We're down in southwest France.... 39 degrees yesterday, no breeze, trying to pack up the house for removal.... nightmare...., can't sleep, and loads of flies. 08:30 here and it's already 32 degrees in the house. Son has just arrived in Andorra for the 4 day Andorra Epic race... he says it's a little cooler there than when they were driving down through France yesterday.
We're down in southwest France.... 39 degrees yesterday, no breeze, trying to pack up the house for removal.... nightmare...., can't sleep, and loads of flies. 08:30 here and it's already 32 degrees in the house.
I'm in the middle of France doing the same. We peaked at 43 locally yesterday and today's supposed to be hotter.
Eldest is in Barcelona this week, which seems relatively cool compared to the rest of Spain. Youngest is inter railing round Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Got some really hot days ahead of her too.
Governments focus has moved to defence rather than climate change, though when the Climate Wars start that may prove worthwhile
But hey,lets build rockets and book that Venice wedding venue 😞
Some 200 guests & 95 private jets arrived if news reports are to be believed
We're in Madrid which gets hit hard in the summer at the best of times. Everything here's set up for it though so most companies do reduced hours in July / August, a lot of people take holidays as a 4-week block and go to second houses on the coast, every flat has 'persianas' on the windows so you can block out a lot of the heat, and there's always an outdoor municipal swimming pool near by.
It still hits productivity though. I feel sluggish all the time and don't sleep very well, even though we are one of the lucky ones with air con in the bedroom and strategically placed fans all over the house. Going back to the UK at the end of this month to see family and really looking forward to the temperature drop.
Some 200 guests & 95 private jets arrived if news reports are to be believed
Dance while the world burns.
I remember saying around 20 years ago that nobody will do anything meaningful about climate change and I was right. I have given up caring or doing anything about it now as no point.
Over the last 100 years or so the human race has got completely out of control.
our little island in the north sea is really quite pleasant - which is going to distract our general population from caring or even understanding when told about the fairly unpleasant conditions in other parts of the world.
lack of rain is my concern rather than temperatures, and when the rain does come, as we've seen in Spain and a few other places semi-recently, its in very high rate rain that just runs off (and causes flooding) rather than going in to the land, so even looking at the rainfall amounts doesn't give an accurate view.
lack of rain is my concern rather than temperatures
It literally didn't stop raining for 9 months last year, we can cope with a dry spell. This isn't a climate change denial post btw....
It's not the solution, but you can make your house a lot cooler with most of the same tactics you use to keep the heat in in the winter.
It literally didn't stop raining for 9 months last year, we can cope with a dry spell.
You'd have thought so wouldn't you? If only we'd built some reservoirs, fixed some leaks etc....
I remember saying around 20 years ago that nobody will do anything meaningful about climate change and I was right
We have a long way to go, but a lot has been done. Each kWh of electricity generated produces a fifth of the CO2 it did in 2012, and we are using less overall. It's not enough, but I don't think it's nothing.
It's been interesting being in Europe the last couple of weeks in this heat. And heat is the biggest killer of all climate impacts.
Most places just aren't designed to manage it. Mrs Reeksy works in climate change adaptation strategy and was commenting yesterday that retrofitting housing for heat impacts is going to be a massive expense.
Building houses like ours that stay cool inside when it's over 35 celcius is great but not practical for most.
A/C is an obvious band-aid but has bad implications for electricity usage and the grid struggles - you don't want to lose power in a heatwave.
But unusual heat isn't the only change. Back home we've had unseasonal rain and now snow ahead of schedule. Unlike Weeksy that actually makes for less riding as the clay is unrideable when it's wet 😩
It literally didn't stop raining for 9 months last year, we can cope with a dry spell. This isn't a climate change denial post btw....
In terms of humans, was more worried for southern europe and further afield rather than here - I dont think water security is a hot topic in the UK but in some countries it very much is.
In terms of our natural environment though, our plants and soils (and in turn the animals that rely on them) aren't so used to this prolonged lack of water and that isn't really something we can retrospectively fix.
If only we'd built some reservoirs, fixed some leaks etc....
Enough of that long term investment talk, the shareholders would be raging.
#greedisgood
I do believe we have now reached the tipping point where climate change is both irreversible and that threat to human life on a mass scale is inevitable
Not one government met its obligations under COP. Not one government has been honest with its citizens about this. the pretense that we can stop climate change without massive lifestyle changes is what has brought us to this
Its been obvious for a long time this is where we are heading
I'm just loving the idea that all major governments seem to be banbking on AI solving climate change before AI's use of massive amounts of electricity causes climate changhe to be even more irreversible.
This is the same AI that regularly tells me bullshit answers to things.
Well, that and using unproven/untested technologies like Carbon Capture & Storage.
Well Edukator - no one wants to fix things do they?
Political will is the hard bit.
>> That photo of Fraser from Dad's Army<<,yes, you know the one 🙃
It's depressing to see that so many people just don't care enough to make significant changes. I'd start by banning non-military air travel. And cruise boats. It needs to be something significant that will change our collective behaviour. Too many people justifying their actions by pointing out that others fly, drive etc.. never mind the damage wars are causing, plus China, the USA and others. Too easy to buy into this "carbon offset" nonsense.
I've been a hypocrite at times... flew to Mallorca earlier this year (first air travel in 15+ years) and have carbon bikes... feel a bit sick about it all really 🙁
Really gets me when people don't realise how bloody lucky we are to live in these privileged times. We had a collective chance and blew it.
Political will is the hard bit.
I'm sure there are plenty of politicians who would spend massively on fixing things. The problem is that there are also politicians who don't give a shit and tell voters that it's fine and they can do whatever they want without consequence. People vote for the wrong ones.
Liking the Facebook bingo ‘it’ll be raining next week, will you blame global warming then’? Er, yes.
there were some nice, but disheartening plots I saw in a blog the other week.
this blog https://protonsforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2025/06/20/climate-stripes/
these plots https://ed-hawkins.github.io/climate-visuals/spirals.html
The houses in these parts are fairly well adapted with roof overhangs, pertians, white/pale walls but when the temperature doesn't drop much overnight the house gets a bit warmer each day. Insulating under the floor has proved counter productive in Summer. The only uninsulated floor is the garage which we might sleep on tonight. We cook outside, use appliances as little as reasonable. I've got a left over bag of white render I'll be coating dark outside surfaces with and would white wash the red roof tiles if that were legal - it isn't.
Still this is a short heat wave if the forecast is right and we'll be back to just "normal" hot Summer conditions by Thursday. Over the past few years comparisons with "normal" are more and more futile. Things aren't going to normal again and even current normal won't be normal for long.
Sometimes you need to add smileys, Drac, if not it's confusing listening to you comments. 😉
it’s pretty obvious that isn’t serious.
Strawberries used to peak ripen at Wimbledon.
Apparently now native grown strawbs have been and gone (anecdotal, i dont eat strawberries or follow tennis)
Do they move Wimbledon, or develop some later ripening strawbs?
It's fine folks, calm down, stop worrying.
By the time the heat gets too unbearable it'll be just in time for the upcoming nuclear winter, should cancel it out nicely.
Was a very wet winter for much of southern europe so reservoir levels are excellent for the time of year
Stop Oil got thrown in clink, and gas central heating, ICE cars and flying to Mallorca/New Zealand are still the norme.
We always seem to miss 'the internet' off these internet threads. Maybe I should copy and paste something from Chat GPT into the tread about google's use of AI in its search results have increased their emissions by 50% because Gemini seems to not volunteer an answer when you google 'googles increasing emissions'
Or maybe I can copy and paste this link that bypasses their AI results
Apparently now native grown strawbs have been and gone
I think strawberries come all summer long. I bought British ones the other day.
Can you disable the AI summary on a Google search, I wonder?
EDIT yes. This is (ironically) from the AI summary:
-
- Open Google Search: On your computer or mobile device, open a browser and go to google.com.
- Access Labs:
- Desktop: Click on "Labs" at the top of the page after performing a search.
- Mobile: Tap on your profile picture or initial at the top right, then tap "More settings", and then "Labs".
- Desktop: Click on "Labs" at the top of the page after performing a search.
- Open Google Search: On your computer or mobile device, open a browser and go to google.com.
- Manage Labs: Locate the "AI Overviews and more" setting.
- Toggle Off: Toggle the setting to the off position.
- Perform a Search: Enter your query in the Google search bar.
- Locate the Filter: Look for the "Web" filter below the search bar or under the "More" button.
- Select Web Filter: Click on the "Web" filter to view traditional search results.
I think strawberries come all summer long. I bought British ones the other day.
they can do by either starting them artificially early in heated greenhouses or by delaying them. Natually grown ones are appearing earlier as a result of climate change. Its one of the issues - folk getting used to seasonal fruit and veg out of season. I no longer know what is in season
It's fine folks, calm down, stop worrying.
By the time the heat gets too unbearable it'll be just in time for the upcoming nuclear winter, should cancel it out nicely.
^^Needs to be posted in the 'How much money do I need for retirement? ' thread 😉 🙃
A few years back it wouldn't have been obvious and the long gone STW climate sceptics would have been all over this thread, Drac. I knew your tongue was firmly in you cheek but not everyone does if there's no smiley.
In the 70s researchers tended to publish stuff in their own speciality without enough thought for other influences. The physicists working on solar cycles said we were possibly heading into another ice age without considering the work of the scientists working on the climates of the planets or the geologists working on the role of CO2 levels in paleoclimates.
As a scientist working on an atmospheric pollution project I'll quote 1986 as the year I became convinced we were heading towards a climate disaster, but given the peak oil projections at the time thought it would be more limited and longer coming than it has been. I didn't foresee China's rapid industrialisation and the fossil fuel industry's capacity to fuel it. It took a dinner party in the early 2000s with some oil drillers talking about new techniques to improve well yields (fracking) to start alarm bells ringing in my head.
We're learning all the time but failing to act on what we've learned so far.
Apparently now native grown strawbs have been and gone
I think strawberries come all summer long. I bought British ones the other day.
I'm not sure they've gone. But there was certainly a glut of them earlier in the season than usual so - that'll have been a pain for some growers as they'll probably get a premium for anything they can sell just now but instead they'll have been selling pretty cheaply earlier in the year
I'd imagine the strawberry / Wimbledon thing will be about the seasonality of strawberries in the southeast of England as Sussex is a big strawberry growing region - 'British' will be a broader 'season' - theres a lot a soft fruit growing in tayside and the north of Scotland for instance, those crops take advantage of longer hours of daylight in high summer but as theres also a much later spring so those crops will ripen at a different time to those further south.
Theres been some amazing Scottish strawberries about this year though. No double theres a thread about kidney stones to look forward to 🙂
You'd have hoped so, but it's pretty normal fare for Faecesbook these days. Just need to add how it's refugees' fault and part of a Big Pharma plot to depopulate the world (for motives that elude me)
The facebook scientists part was a clue.
Anyway, it’s about 15c here today and cloudy. Feels rather nice after yesterday’s pretty unbearable heat all day.
Was a very wet winter for much of southern europe so reservoir levels are excellent for the time of year
We haven't had the water table so high in years (France, med coast) and the viticulteurs i know are all rather optimistic for a bumper crop this year. Because of the early arrival of the summer heat they've been treating the vines for fungal infections earlier and more frequently.
36c on the north side of the house, so I'm better off finishing any outdoor activities before 10am! I'm going to spend the afternoon in the cellar preparing junior's bike fior her first Mega.
Anyone who hasn't seen this coming since the early 90's at least has either had their head in the sand or been wilfully ignoring the evidence
My newsfeed fairly regularly show me articles about the reducing birth rate in what might be termed 'developed nations' The reasons cited for this generally focus on the security and cost of housing, costs of childcare and generally high living expenses and how it negatively impacts women's professional development throughout their careers.
Almost never is concern over the impacts of climate change on future generations mentioned, which I find extremely surprising. No way would I be considering having kids these days considering the shit the world will be in 70-80 years in the future, and I hope to never be a grandparent for the same reasons.
By the way that Google AI summary on how to turn AI off is another AI nonsense response for a lot of people. Those settings apparently haven't existed for a couple of years but its just scraped old web sites.
If you want to search without AI type -ai at the start of whatever your searching for. (Well it works for me anyhow)
Was a very wet winter for much of southern europe so reservoir levels are excellent for the time of year
I'm in southern europe (I think), this piqued my curiosity as you often hear that the rainfall is too hard/fast for the reservoirs to catch it, so I did some digging. Turns out there's a rather old school reservoir levels website, marvellous. Anyway, I was interested in why the monthly average level for the reservoir my tapwater comes from varies much less these days than it did in the 90s/00s. Seems to be more stable these days. Improvements in the distribution or something?
Our level now is at 79% capacity, same as this week last year and down on the 10 year average for this week of 83.4%. Fascinating stuff!
My guess is that the hydro-electric use of the dam's water changed in about 07 and that has resulted in higher more stable levels, Bob.
My guess is that the hydro-electric use of the dam's water changed in about 07 and that has resulted in higher more stable levels, Bob.
That would not have even occured to me. I think you're right, I moved to the area in '08 and there's never been a lot of activity around the generators. You'd expect technicians' vans, noise etc. And I'm up there all the time as it's a road loop of mine. Hmm.
The waterbombing plane is out in our general area - about 12 miles from the house - looks like it in the wooded area near the top of a very nice Cat 3 climb. Not many houses in the area... hope all are safe and OK
They're probably still generating, Bob, but to a different protocol. Hydro dams have to release a flow to the river so the fishes don't die and have a minimum level to respect. Within those constraints they generate when needed and preferably when the price is high. They almost never waste money with overflowing water which would also be risky from a flood management POV.
We escaped the 40+ in town with a walk in the mountains. Back home it's still 34 outside at 21h and 29 in the house. Debating sleeping in the cooler garage.
Political will is the hard bit.
Made much harder when oil and and auto industries are chucking tens of millions of ££ at your political party.
Reform are about 90% funded by oil and gas players.
Oof, cooler this morning. Spent the night in the garage and went for a tepid swim - that's another problem, the local outdoor pool gets too warm and doesn't lose enough heat over night.
Till the next heat wave then, 20 in the last decade and constantly rising according to France 2 The Zoe's battery cooling is humming away, I normally charge overnight but didn't want to disturb the neighbours' sleep.
Why the **** do people in northern Europe head down here for their Summer holiday? it't miserable at less than 1000-1500m.
Meanwhile we go back to North Wales camping in August and it's tipping it down all week. My sister's apologetic, oh the weather's always like this when you come over. But I cannot wait. Last time we started the journey here in 40C, campervan no aircon, pitched up in Eryri and it was 14C mizzle. Got cold sleeping in summer bags. Wonderful
I have Dutch friends who moved to the middle of France a few years ago. On account of the climate, they are now seriously considering moving north, possibly to Scotland.
And so my next door neighbours, who are the ultimate aspirational consumers (I) run 2 cars despite living in a well connected city (ii) have a never ending procession of DIY projects to rip out perfectly good decor/furniture (iii) have 2x black wheelie bins that they absolutely brim every week (we barely 1/4 fill one)
Speaking to them yesterday:
"Oh it's getting too warm nowadays. we're installing air conditioning "
🤦