“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
By Paul Homewood Hottest day of the year in the urban heat ravaged London, where temperatures are generally around three degrees higher than elsewhere: Back in 1911 temperatures in London hit 37.8C (100F): In those days, London was known as “The Smoke” for good reason. Coal power stations, gas works, steam trains and pretty much [ ]
By Paul Homewood It was the sun wot dun it!! A July 2026 Environmental Research Letters paper by Bellocchi et al. attributes ~80% of the rise in Earth’s absorbed solar radiation since 2000 to a decline in highly reflective cloud cover, largely due to circulation-driven contraction of storm-cloud zones. [some emphasis, links added] The study [ ]
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness/Brian Catt More, truly juvenile reporting in the Telegraph: English oak trees are being replaced by foreign variants because they can no longer cope with the British heat, experts have warned. Searing temperatures across the UK have forced tree nurseries to import oaks germinated in southern Europe, which are [ ]
By Paul Homewood Somebody (sorry, forgot who!) sent me this EA report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a74859c3a690e9ef0ea6cd4/Rainfall_and_river_flow_summary_29_July_to_4_August_2026.pdf It includes this useful table: Of course, it has been dry in the last few months. But the 12 month, and even 6 month figures, are a reminder that nothing much changes over time.
By Paul Homewood Ian Botham writes in the Telegraph: August 12 is the start of the grouse shooting season. But there’s not much talk about that this year. The North of England is much more concerned about when the next wildfire will break out. They are smoking out our cities and threatening the lives of [ ]
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness Meanwhile, let’s all switch on our washing machines tomorrow night! Britain’s biggest energy supplier is urging people to avoiding using electricity during this week’s solar eclipse. Octopus Energy is asking customers to delay using washing machines, dishwashers and other plug-in devices between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday, when the [ ]
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Cunningham We are rapidly turning into a third world country where our electricity grid is concerned: From the Telegraph: Emergency power cuts could be imposed on millions of households at short notice to avoid nationwide blackouts, under new rules introduced by grid bosses. Measures that came into effect this week [ ]
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness From the Telegraph: Safety concerns mount as increasing numbers of homes have devices installed Faulty solar panels triggered 212 rooftop fires last year, new figures show, raising concerns about the technology’s expansion across the UK. A leading insurer has found that fires involving solar panels were up [ ]
By Paul Homewood We’ve been bombarded with claims all summer of record heatwaves. But away from the Met Office’s dodgy weather stations next to airport runways and in walled gardens, the Central England Temperature Series tells a different story. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/data/download.html The daily data shows that the 1976 heatwave during the last week of June [ ]
By Paul Homewood From the Daily Sceptic: Global mean vegetation greening reached a record high last year, extending an already significant multi-decade upward trend, according to recent findings published in Nature. In fact, 2025 set a record for global vegetation greening with a steepening of the average trend. Top of the [ ]