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i think the world has warmed up but i'm not sure whether we've caused it or not. the biggest problem of all which needs addressing though is our depletion of natural resources which is what could lie behind some of the "to prevent global warming" policy stuff you hear about now. i think the world has started to wake up to the amount of waste we make and that there are very definitely finite resources in a world of 6.5 bn people and that most of these people can never have any sort of lifestyle many in the west take for granted, there simply arent enough resources to go around for everyone, and still have a planet worth living on. i expect the hysterical global warming debate to broaden into a more "sustainable planet" kind of approach in years to come. AGW is just the menacing threat to make people onions themselves into being less wasteful. it (agw) probably isnt the greatest problem we face though, its the general fouling of our own planet which doesnt necessarily mean climate change. what policy makers should be talking about is massive worldwide population control. uncontrolled population growth is what is destroying our environment and risking all out lives, AGW or not. We don't need to "industrialise" Africa or anywhere else in the world - there are enough Mumbai's , Dubai's London's and Hong Kongs as it is. Our grandchildren are going to live in a very cramped, overbuilt, artificial environment already, lets not make this worse. And just to add a cynical note - I fully expect that the massive tax hikes we are about to see levied supposedly in the name of "environmentalism" will instead be likley to disappear into the general pot to be used to secure our access to scare resources via use of military force against those who would dare challenge us for the diminishing natural wealth available to everyone living in this overcrowded world. this is the real world we live in, i'm afraid.

said who?

I am going for 8.5 C

The "mild-o-meter" reaches the dizzy heights of 10 this week with a staggering 10 mentions of the word in the monthly forecast! It was 9 last week and 8 the week before. So even though Everton's left, things continue as normal!

with the sea now starting this spring a good 2 degrees warmer than normal , we could get an amazing heatwave this summer and an even milder winter next year!

Pretty damn scary that the world seems to be warming at .2 degree per decade and at an accelerating rate. What happens if in 20 years it is warming by .5 degrees C per decade? what do we do then? and will people still be in denial?

All my lightbulbs (bar one or two spotlights) in my place are low energy ones. i turned the heating down this winter and "put a woolly on" and tell others to do so if they are cold. the council don't have recylcing where i live (apart from garden waste which does go in the compost bin) so sadly i throw glass etc away. i switch off electrical equipment at the mains when not in use. i now wash my clothes at lower temperatures except when they're really filthy & muddy - you can't tell the difference if you wash at 30 or 40 degrees. i pour sink of water to wash pans etc and always put the dishwasher on for full load only. always take a shower instead of a bath. have energy efficient combi boiler i don't own a car and i always use public transport & cycle to and from work each day. I try not to buy food which has been flown thousands of miles / processed and packaged to hell using vast amounts of energy in the preparation. spend jsut a little extra time making sauces, cooking from raw ingredients, its far more satisfying and environmentally friendly. thats about it really. oh yes, my place is getting double glazed this year as well.

Re: Northern England Ski slopes - here's the info! http://www.snowlion.freeuk.com/yadmoss.html ps i am sure it was that Val D'enholme which i skiied at in 1991.

I wouldn't be so sure. i think it could happen in the next 5 years somewhere in the UK. We had 70 level cms from that fall in upland West Yorks. it was absolutely fantastic, a true countrywide event i think and at the time i had no idea that it would be the last time i would see such depth (by a long stretch) for 16 years (and counting). 2 weeks after the snowfall i went skiing on my birthday in the Pennines (back then snow was reliable enough in the winter for the ocassional farmer to be able put up a very basic snow tow and charged for use of a "slope" during the winter younger people may be interested to know) 3 weeks after the snowfall i had my first driving lesson and the snow was still packed high at the sides of the roads. However only a few years earlier in 1982 and 1986 we'd had similar amounts, in 1986 we had to be dug out by a JCB along with many neighbours. Whilst it was seen as "a lot" of snow, it wasn't so extreme as to expect a 20 year return period. Such an event should be expected to come about once every 8 to 10 years by my estimation under the conditions we used to see in the 60s 70s and 80s. Even accounting for the "modern" winter, we are "overdue" ( i know some hate this terminology, but statistics are statistics) another '91 type event or perhaps even a more extreme one. The 91 event wasnt even slightly "marginal". In fact it could be argued that a more "marginal" version of the 91 type event could bring even more snow as at say 0 deg C air temps the atmosphere can hold more moisture than at -3 deg C but would likely still be snow. Ahh memories....aint what they were!

Ok no moans - 5 -6 cm of level snow in Brockwell Park, SW London, this morning. Think it should still be there for a crunch walk this evening!

well there's still time in the next couple of weeks. we've had as much here ( in the mildest winter for ages lol) than we have had for quite a few years and i reckon probably the deepest for 5 years. still 3 inches is not amazing though, my partner has lived in Canada for many years and wondered what the big deal was this morning when i was jumping around like a 2 year old. really trying hard to sound like i'm not griping . will be playing in the snow in the park later!

this is true in a way and i'm glad everyone is enjoying the snow, i am. however when i went outside and walked through the park this morning on my way to the tube (no biking today!) i noticed that the 5cm of snow was of the soggy atlantic variety, rather than the continental type. the atlantic snow type never really lasts i'm afraid, we need to see like you say another '91 and a foot of dry , easterly powder snow again before i will be convinced it can really happen like in the old days.

is this still going to happen?

glad you got some , could see you were a bit miserbale yesterday at not being "invited to the party" Welcome !

this tallies with the minor upgrades that we've been seeing all day from the Meto. Exciting 24 hours coming up!

anyone have a view on what /whether the urban heat island effect will take the edge off London's snowfall prospects? how much wind is there going to be with this event?

its an abbreviation for "fantasy island" - a nickname given to weather chart forecasts for many days in advance , often showing enticing prospects of snow, which we look at on here with interest but which seem to nearly always disappear before they come into a timeframe which one can call reliable.

you may get 4-6 inches in Reading.

loved Roger's quote I think FI has magically broken through into real time at last!

so that's what it was . the teachers want to get away early for their half term. speaks volumes about our country and its future . seems blitz spirit is well and truly dead (killed by a risk assessment) sorry i'm having a grumpy half hour.

so that's what it was . the teachers want to get away early for their half term. speaks volumes about our country and its future . seems blitz spirit is well and truly dead (killed by a risk assessment) sorry i'm having a grumpy half hour.

I cant believe they shut the schools just at the mere forecast of snow and before its happened (though i'm obviously pleased for the kids). but in "my day" ( not that long ago, talking the 1980s and early 90's) we only got sent home if and when we woke up and it had snowed to the point of the roads not being passable. i would expect with all this warning the gritters will do their job and the roads should beclear . why should kids not go to school / adults to work and we all behave like a four minute warning has been announced? this "forecast of disruption" malarkey only started about 5 years ago , i despair sometimes.

that's what i like, a nice positive post.

saturday, as long as this lot tonight doesnt get too far north. looking hopeful now it will remain as snow in the south too, as the low is progged to pivot, go into a sausage shape, and head east.

good you are right in the firing line and your readings will be crucial to give the experts on here a better handle of how its all going to react with the cold air and what the likely outcome will be! keep em coming.