Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Bashed Around By Bert

Folk, in many UK areas, have been predictably upset by the impacts of storm Bert. It's disrupted rail and road travel. It's caused extensive flooding in some town centres near rivers. In some areas, a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours. Also predictably, people have started blaming the Meteorolgical Office, for not explicitly warning them of the intensity of the storm. Others, are admonishing local government/ the Environmental Agency for the inadequacies of flood defences (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/25/travel-chaos-and-flooding-to-continue-as-uk-counts-cost-of-storm-bert). This blame-game seems a tad concocted. Surely, people must, by now, be starting to appreciate that climate change inevitably increases the incidence and intensities of extreme weather events? 'Once in a 100 years' events are likely to be with us every 5-10 years. Major, expensive mitigations will be required, as the release of 'greenhouse gases' is not being adequately curbed. Every storm designated by name (like Bert), can be a harbinger of chaos, even in our 'green and pleasant land'.

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Bashed Around By Bert

Folk, in many UK areas, have been predictably upset by the impacts of storm Bert . It's disrupted rail and road travel. It's caused...