Weather and Climate Discussion

Given the fact we had about a week of lying snow last month, and that I’ve already been asked ‘is that it for this winter?’, I thought some statistics on … Continue reading “Deep and crisp and even”

From the early 1990s, high levels of tree mortality have been observed across large areas of forest in North America infested by species of bark beetles. The majority of the … Continue reading “Mountain Pine Beetles, Climate and the Carbon Cycle”

The cultivation of bio-energy crops, such as sugarcane is a potentially lucrative activity.  But sugarcane is a thirsty crop, and the infrastructure required to refine it is expensive.  These issues … Continue reading “Growing bio-fuels in Africa: Sugarcane in Ghana”

For a stratospheric scientist, winter is a worrying time.  For most of the year we can enjoy whatever weather the atmosphere decides to throw at us, secure in the knowledge … Continue reading “Sudden Stratospheric Stirrings”

What is a “White Christmas”? For many people a White Christmas is a Christmas Day (25 December) with a ‘traditional’ look to the day – that is one with snow … Continue reading “A White Christmas in Reading?”

The cold weather started just before the Christmas of 1962, as temperatures from the University’s climatological station (then in London Road) show.

A remarkable event occurs each springtime in the Antarctic (Sept-Oct-Nov) lower stratosphere – a dramatic depletion of ozone in a period of just a few weeks. It has not always … Continue reading “The 2012 Antarctic Ozone Hole”

It can’t have escaped anyone’s notice that summer 2012 has seen some pretty unusual conditions. In the UK its officially been the second wettest summer (June, July and August) since … Continue reading “summer weather and food production”