Whether We Get the Weather

Watched Justin Rowlatt's BBC 1 Panorama programme on 'Britain's Wild Weather' (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q5zz). It, basically, followed a year of recent extreme weather events (record rainfall with flooding, storms with coastal erosion and much higher than normal Spring and Summer temperatures with effects on wild fires, crops and human health). It also brought in predictions of future weather by modellers at the Meteorological Office. Predictions were made, in the event of our continuing to release greenhouse gases at the current rate and if there was a marked global curtailing of emissions. The main media response, to the programme, has been to focus (Christmas is coming) on the disappearance of winter snow in all Southern regions of the UK. This, appears to me, to be one of the least of our problems (building houses on flood plains or on rapidly eroding dune systems seem much worse). Rowlatt, whilst confirming that corrective changes will not happen quickly, seemed to be rather optimistic about our ability to avoid really dire consequences of climate change. I am not so convinced. People seem to talk the talk but they often fail to walk the walk. Many of the calculations, about precisely what emissions we should take responsibility for, also seem too simplistic. Taming wild weather, is going to be far from easy!