Tag: temperatures

Counting on … day 128

26th  August 2025

Base lines shift not only in our psyche but in science too. 

“A heatwave is an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity…[It is] met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold.” (1)

Heatwaves are thus relative rather than absolute. As temperatures have risen, so the threshold for a heatwave has increased. (2) In London the threshold was 26C but as of 2022 it is now set at 28C. We have had four heatwaves this summer in London, so I guess it is possible that the threshold marker will be raised again. 

  1. https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/temperature/heatwave

(2) https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/shifting-baseline-uk-heatwaves

Counting on … day 129

27th  August 2025

Climate change means that the likelihood of hotter and more prolonged heatwaves will increase. Culturally in the UK, the pessimistic view is that our summers of cold and wet and not as good as the long, hot and relaxing summers that Europe enjoys. Therefore spells of hot weather are seen as things to be enjoyed! We have not yet come to understand that heatwaves can be uncomfortable, damaging for our health and destructive for agriculture. 

Our buildings and urban areas – unlike many of their European counterparts – are not designed to provide shade and protection from high temperatures. Nor are our working practices adapted to cope with excess heat. High temperatures do damage our health: the heat wave in June of this year likely caused 600 deaths. (1) High temperatures and lack of rain damages both crops and livestock. 84% of UK farmers have reported reduced crop yields. (2) With many other countries on whom we rely for food imports similarly affected, rises in food prices and shortages are inevitable.

Rising temperatures should not be seen as a means of getting a suntan, but treated as real risks that need to be addressed if we care for people’s  (and other living things’)  wellbeing both here and world wide. 

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/21/heatwave-expected-deaths-england-and-wales-analysis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/02/farmers-climate-crisis-livelihood-extreme-weather-study?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other