Humphrey Lean

Storm Amy has been record breaking ⚠️

An air pressure of 947.9 hPa was recorded at Baltasound, Shetland, provisionally setting a new UK lowest pressure record for October.

Northern Ireland provisionally recorded its strongest October wind gust on record, with a gust of 92 mph at Magilligan.

#StormAmy ’s magnificent swirl as seen from @eumetsat.int’s Meteosat-12 satellite 🛰️

EarthCARE is a inexhaustible source of beautiful imagery of some of the most spectacular phenomena nature has to offer, so I've started a Gallery page on the EarthCARE Science web site, showing for example convective motions in the trainbands of Typhoon Ragasa... www.earthcarescience.net/gallery

Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. John Dobbin (1815-1888) c.1875. Painting held by the National Railway Museum, York. Crowds gather as Locomotion No.1 hauls dozens of wagons packed with passengers along a distant embankment and across a river via an elegant bridge.

#OnThisDay 200 years ago witnessed the birth of modern railways through the opening procession of the Stockton & Darlington Railway from Shildon to Darlington. Watched by thousands, Locomotion No.1 hauled hundreds of passengers aboard wagons and coach 'Experiment'.

Missed the total phase of the lunar eclipse because the moon was too close to the horizon. Did get to see the shadow receding across it though.

Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests Airborne particles cause toxic clumps of proteins in brain that are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, study indicates Fine-particulate air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia by triggering the formation of toxic clumps of protein that destroy nerve cells as they spread through the brain, research suggests. Exposure to the airborne particles causes proteins in the brain to misfold into the clumps, which are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading...

Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests

An ominous looking swathe of cloud gathering to our southwest associated with a low pressure system

Wind and rain incoming tonight/tomorrow

Last night in Reading at around 17:30 UTC saw one of the brightest and most complete rainbows I’ve seen for a while (the photo doesn’t do it justice).

Summer 2025 is the warmest on record for the UK Provisional Met Office statistics confirm that summer 2025 is officially the warmest summer on record for the UK.

New analysis from @metoffice.gov.uk showing that the record-breaking hot UK summer of 2025 has been made much more likely by human-induced climate change and such a hot summer would be expected about once every 5 years in current climate. www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

Nice fall streaks seen from Reading earlier today. The front produced a small amount of rain (less than 0.1mm) but we did have one loud clap of thunder.

Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes Exclusive: Homes are heating up as summers get hotter but least well-off are shouldering greatest risk, study finds * Why UK housing is dangerously unprepared for impact of climate crisis * From shutters to reflective paint: how to prevent UK homes overheating Lower-income householders, minority ethnic people and those with young children are more likely to live in homes at risk from dangerous overheating, research has found. The UK has baked in multiple heatwaves this summer, with many people sweltering in dangerously hot homes that were not designed to withstand extreme temperatures. June was the hottest on record and in general this summer England was an average of 1.58C above average temperatures. Continue reading...

Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes

First heavy rain in Reading for a long time!

Rainbows in the sky just now.

Calls to clean up England’s ‘toxic air’ as GP visits for asthma attacks rise 45% Exclusive: Doctors say clean air zones need expanding, after 45,458 visits in first half of this year – up from 31,376 last year The number of patients being treated by GPs for asthma attacks has increased by 45% in a year, prompting calls for urgent action to tackle toxic levels of air pollution. There were 45,458 presentations to family doctors in England between January and June this year, according to data from the Royal College of General Practitioners research and surveillance centre. Across the same period in 2024, there were 31,376 cases. Continue reading...

Calls to clean up England’s ‘toxic air’ as GP visits for asthma attacks rise 45%

Did anybody order a sea breeze for tomorrow? Incoming....

Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report False claims obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for climate lies to be criminalised Rampant climate misinformation is turning the crisis into a catastrophe, according to the authors of a new report. It found climate action was being obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information stemming from fossil fuel companies, rightwing politicians and some nation states. The report, from the International Panel on the Information Environment (Ipie), systematically reviewed 300 studies. Continue reading...

Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report

Scuddy clouds earlier today seen behind the @ecmwf.int crane from @unirdg-met.bsky.social

Up early this morning and happened to catch the sun still looking very red from the Canadian smoke.

I hear UK IsItHotRightNow is now live 🎉 istheukhotrightnow.com. Congrats, it looks awesome!

So isithotrightnow.com has now expanded to UK, Spain and Germany, each adding their own fantastic new features. We'll have to try to keep up :)

Is the UK hot right now?

YES - it's warm!

See the data live, hour-by-hour: istheukhotrightnow.com

Click on each site to show all the details.

Lenticular clouds behind the crane on the @ecmwf.int building site seen from @unirdg-met.bsky.social at about 07:30 UTC this morning.

splitting_supercell.mp4

Great view of storm to the north from Henley.

Chance of rain, some thundery Sunday through next Tuesday..

Soil moisture just below the lawn in my garden for April with rainfall. Drying during the dry weather at the start of the month slowed by slight rain mid month. The rainfall event on the 23rd caused a spike but then fell off much more rapidly presumably because the soil below was still very dry.

Quite lumpy clouds in Reading earlier (although definitely in the category of looking better in the photo than to the eye).

Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China China’s leaders see artificial intelligence as key to upgrading military strength, solving problems created by a shrinking workforce, and a source of national pride On a misty Saturday afternoon in Shenzhen’s Central Park, a gaggle of teenage girls are sheltering from the drizzle under a concrete canopy. With their bags of crisps piled high in front of them, they crowd around a couple of smartphones to sing along to Mandopop ballads. The sound of their laughter rings out across the surrounding lawn – until it is pierced by a mechanical buzzing sound. Someone has ordered dinner. A few metres away from the impromptu karaoke session is an “airdrop cabinet”, one of more than 40 in Shenzhen that is operated by Meituan, China’s biggest food delivery platform. Hungry park-goers can order anything from rice noodles to Subway sandwiches to bubble tea. Continue reading...

Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China

In 2024, Paris banned cars from its city center to make room for cyclists and pedestrians with remarkable pollution reduction as a result. Earlier this year, Parisians voted to create even more car-free zones in the city.

Visual: The Washington Post

Map reveals residential wood-burning hotspots in England and Wales Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution Burning wood at home adds more particle pollution to the UK’s air than all of the vehicles on its roads, but there is very little information on where this burning takes place and who is most affected. To address this knowledge gap, researchers have produced the first high-resolution map of wood burning in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Map reveals residential wood-burning hotspots in England and Wales

What I’ve learned after 40 years as the Observer’s science editor Almost as amazing as the knowledge we have gained in the past four decades is the fact that some people continue to deny the damage we are doing to our world

Great article from the Observer Science Editor for the last 40 years recalling some great breakthroughs but also pointing out the potentially dire consequences of the “rise of unreason”. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...