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Old June 15th 05, 05:42 PM posted to uk.sci.weather
Alastair McDonald Alastair McDonald is offline
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First recorded activity by Weather-Banter: Jul 2003
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Default One for the gardeners


"Norman Lynagh" wrote in
message ...
In message , JPG
writes


They forecast that by 2050 summer temperatures in the south-east will be

1.5 to
3C warmer than today, while average summer rainfall could fall by 35 per

cent.
If the current rate of warming continues, summers could be as much as 6C

warmer
by the 2080s.


I'd be interested to see the mean surface pressure and upper contour
patterns that go with these predictions. Warmer and drier suggests an
increase in the frequency of anticyclonic southerlies i.e. relatively
high pressure over the near continent. That might mean that further east
there would be a cooling due to a higher frequency of northerlies.


But don't forget that the north will warm too. So the northerlies will not
be as cold as they are today.

I have no problem with the theory that global warming will result in
climate change (and undoubtedly is already) but I have a lot of
difficulty in accepting that the subject is sufficiently well understood
to enable fairly detailed predictions of the changes that will occur at
a spot location (on a global scale SE England is a spot location).


This is the first time I recall the changes to the British climate from
global warming being discussed on this newsgroup. It is not
surprising then, that you think no one has given it much thought.
However there are scientists who have been thinking about those
problems for a considerable time. In 1991, nearly 15 years ago,
the Department of the Environment published a book entitled "The
Potential Effects of Climate Change in the United Kingdom".

Basically what will happen is the climate zones will move north,
with the Sahara returning to savannah, and the north shore of the
Mediterranean becoming a desert. (The current drought in Spain
is only a taster.) The Mediterranean climate belt will move north
into the south of England. Meanwhile the increase in global
temperature will have resulted in more evaporation from the oceans
and hence there will be more frequent and heavier rain storms in
that receive rain..

Cheers, Alastair.