Harper Government Strengthens Canada’s Weather and Warning Systems. TORONTO, Ont. — January 20, 2012 — Today, the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment, announced that the Harper Government is investing $ 78.7 million over the next five years to strengthen weather monitoring infrastructure, ensuring Canadians continued access to world-class weather, water and climate monitoring data.
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Posts Tagged ‘weather’
Harper Government Strengthens Canada’s Weather and Warning Systems
Posted by admin on January 20th, 2012
Department of Health: Cold weather plan – Reversion to level one alert
Posted by admin on January 18th, 2012
Further to the level alert 2 issued on 12 January, the levels across England have now reverted to Level 1
Guidance on Cold Weather Alert threshhold values is available from the Met Office website.
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Ontario Weather Review – December 2011
Posted by admin on January 17th, 2012
Ontario Weather Review – December 2011. What will be remembered the most by Ontarians this month?
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Extreme weather baffles British butterflies
Posted by admin on December 20th, 2011
Press Association
A small tortoiseshell butterfly sits on red berries between snow showers in the Scottish Borders in early December. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
Butterflies and moths have been baffled by this year’s extreme weather, with many species appearing at unusual times, Butterfly Conservation said today.
But while the hot, dry spring and one of the warmest autumns on record saw butterflies on the wing from early March all the way through to December, the cold damp summer saw many species struggle.
The charity’s Big Butterfly Count this year revealed numbers of common species were down 11% in the face of a miserable summer.
The poor results followed the unusually hot spring, in which species such as the pearl bordered fritillary and the grizzled skipper emerged weeks ahead of normal.
The black hairstreak, which normally appears in June, was seen in May and the Lulworth skipper, a Dorset species, was on the wing seven weeks early.
The warm weather returned in autumn, prompting the arrival of a number of migrant moths from as far as southern Europe.
Humming-bird hawk-moths had their best year on record in the UK, with Butterfly Conservation receiving 9,000 reports of sightings, outstripping the previous record of 6,500.
The UK also saw the highest number of rare flame brocade moths in 130 years, with a colony discovered in Sussex, while exotic species such as the crimson speckled moth and vestal moth were also seen this autumn.
A rare marsh fritillary was spotted in mid-September, almost eight weeks after it should have disappeared for the year, and red admiral butterflies are still being spotted.
And the unseasonably warm winter has caused spring usher moths, Hebrew characters and common Quakers to appear months early.
Butterfly Conservation surveys manager Richard Fox said: “The weather is a matter of life and death for butterflies and moths, and 2011 has been a year of extremes.
“It’s too soon to tell exactly how the UK’s butterflies and moths have fared but the signs are that spring species, including many threatened butterflies, benefited from the hot weather in April and May.
“In contrast most summer-flying species struggled to survive in the cold and damp.
“Autumn brought a reprieve for our beleaguered butterflies and moths, with many native species able to extend their flight periods or squeeze in an extra brood, as well as the arrival of marvellous migrant moths from overseas.”
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Environment news, comment and analysis from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk
Remember to keep your pets warm as the weather turns cold, says Chief Vet for Wales
Posted by admin on December 10th, 2011
Legislative programme 2011 – 2012 »
The Welsh Legislative Programme is announced by the First Minister following the election of a new Welsh Government. Its legislative priorities and aspirations are outlined for its 5 year term and are updated annually.
Learn more »
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Environment and countryside
Department of Health: Cold weather plan – Alert level lowered
Posted by admin on December 9th, 2011
The forecast from the Met Office has changed.
The Cold Weather Plan alert issued on 8 December, has therefore now reverted to Level 1 across England. The levels are as defined in the Cold Weather Plan.
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Ontario Weather Review – November 2011
Posted by admin on December 7th, 2011
Ontario Weather Review – November 2011. Most of the province is still waiting for those dreary days of November, because November 2011 did not deliver them.
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Government boosts preparations to tackle severe weather and avoid winter travel misery
Posted by admin on December 6th, 2011
One of the lessons learnt after three successive severe winters was the need to increase the resilience of the railway to heavy snow, particularly on routes relying on the third rail.
The Government is funding an extensive rolling programme to install third rail heating being carried out by Network Rail across London and the South East.
The programme, part of the infrastructure improvements plan announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, will cover 116,000m of track and cover 421 sites where trains require most traction across the Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes.
To ensure that we go into this winter better prepared, equipment has already been installed at about 85 per cent of the locations and is due to be in place at the remaining sites by January 2012.
The Transport Secretary also published today a cross-Government research study examining options for strengthening winter resilience against a backdrop of recent winter travel disruption that has cost businesses and individuals around £280m a day. The review, which involved Chief Economists and Chief Scientists at DfT, DECC and DEFRA, examined the case for greater investment in a variety of different measures to enhance future winter resilience.
The report shows that we have got the balance of investment in winter preparedness broadly correct.
But it found scope to do more in a number of areas, including boosting rail network resilience and showing there was a good case to introduce third rail heating south of London, where weather disruption was greatest last year due to dependence on third rail train power.
Justine Greening also announced that she had asked the UK Roads Board to explore further measures to make better use of salt, equipment and infrastructure to keep local highways open and safe during severe winter weather. She will also look at the case for increased investment in the Met Office’s super-computing capacity that could ultimately provide improved information on the likelihood and impact of severe weather and support better long-term planning.
Justine Greening visited a rail depot in Tonbridge today to see some of the winter preparations that the rail industry is putting in place and met managers from Southeastern and Network Rail. Apart from the third rail improvements, Network Rail is expanding its fleet of snow clearance and ice treatment trains to a total of 20 and the rail sector is improving its communications with passengers.
Justine Greening said:
“Severe cold weather will always cause some disruption but the Government has worked with our industry partners to minimise the impact on passengers and businesses in future. Both airports and the railway are much better prepared than in the past and our current salt stock in Britain is over 2.7m tonnes. Today I am announcing £16m of investment in our rail infrastructure to help keep trains moving in snow and ice.
“But I’m also asking the industry to raise its game and communicate better with passengers in severe weather. However much resilience train operators have built in, when problems do occur it’s a lack of information that makes delays so frustrating and makes it more difficult for passengers to plan their journeys.”
The Secretary of State has in recent weeks seen for herself some of the improvements to winter resilience this year, at Heathrow Airport and Felixstowe Port, for example. Yesterday the Regional Cabinet in Ipswich also discussed plans for winter preparedness this year.
Notes to editors
1. The report Winter Resilience in Transport: an assessment of the case for additional investment was published today and is available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/winter-resilience-in-transport
2. The Transport Secretary has asked the UK Roads Board to consider further road salt and local highways issues in the report, including gritter calibration and operator training, the potential for local authorities to share storage facilities and the cost effectiveness of setting up an advisory service to help local authorities identify whether they could achieve cost savings by investing in equipment needed for pre-wet treatments.
3. Heathrow and Gatwick airports have made significant investments in more snow and ice clearance capacity and improved their operational procedures. Heathrow has already committed to investing over £30m to improve resilience and Gatwick has invested £8m in its snow and ice clearance fleets following last winter. Both airports have significantly increased their stocks of de-icer.
4. Across Government, action is being taken to plan for winter disruption. The Met Office has recently improved its National Severe Weather Service, allowing more targeted forecast of potential impacts from severe weather this winter and providing a range of forecasts out to 30 days publicly available on its website. The Department of Health has a Cold Weather Plan, as part of efforts to prevent illness and injury in cold weather. The Department for Communities and Local Government is liaising with local authorities to ensure access to road salt for all strategic consumers including police, ports, hospitals and services for the vulnerable.
5. Current salt stock for Great Britain at the end of October 2011 is 2,755,000 tonnes, including strategic stockpiles of 539,000 tonnes and Highways Agency operational salt stock.
6. The Government has also joined up with voluntary sector partners and industry bodies to encourage individual, families and communities to think about what winter preparations they need to make. The “Getting Ready for Winter” initiative highlights some simple and straight forward advice. Including top tips on keeping warm, healthy and safe this winter. The get Ready for winter web page is available on Directgov – www.direct.gov.uk/getreadyforwinter
7. The Department for Transport is exploring with Transport Scotland, the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association how to broker agreement across a group of businesses and local authorities in England and Scotland to trial the temporary use of snow ploughs attached to certain types of heavy duty vehicles to help clear important routes between key distribution centres and the strategic road network. Where necessary, Ministers will consider relaxing certain weights and dimensions legislation to facilitate this.
Press Enquiries: 020 7944 3108
Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292
Public Enquiries: 0300 330 3000
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/transportgovuk | www.youtube.com/transportgovuk | www.flickr.com/transportgovuk
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Department for Transport
Department for Transport: Government boosts preparations to tackle severe weather and avoid winter travel misery
Posted by admin on December 6th, 2011
Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced today a £16m investment in third rail heating as part of a £38m programme to make sure the rail network is better prepared for severe bad weather this winter.
One of the lessons learnt after three successive severe winters was the need to increase the resilience of the railway to heavy snow, particularly on routes relying on the third rail.
The Government is funding an extensive rolling programme to install third rail heating being carried out by Network Rail across London and the South East.
The programme, part of the infrastructure improvements plan announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, will cover 116,000m of track and cover 421 sites where trains require most traction across the Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes.
To ensure that we go into this winter better prepared, equipment has already been installed at about 85 per cent of the locations and is due to be in place at the remaining sites by January 2012.
The Transport Secretary also published today a cross-Government research study examining options for strengthening winter resilience against a backdrop of recent winter travel disruption that has cost businesses and individuals around £280m a day. The review, which involved Chief Economists and Chief Scientists at DfT, DECC and DEFRA, examined the case for greater investment in a variety of different measures to enhance future winter resilience.
The report shows that we have got the balance of investment in winter preparedness broadly correct.
But it found scope to do more in a number of areas, including boosting rail network resilience and showing there was a good case to introduce third rail heating south of London, where weather disruption was greatest last year due to dependence on third rail train power.
Justine Greening also announced that she had asked the UK Roads Board to explore further measures to make better use of salt, equipment and infrastructure to keep local highways open and safe during severe winter weather. She will also look at the case for increased investment in the Met Office’s super-computing capacity that could ultimately provide improved information on the likelihood and impact of severe weather and support better long-term planning.
Justine Greening visited a rail depot in Tonbridge today to see some of the winter preparations that the rail industry is putting in place and met managers from Southeastern and Network Rail. Apart from the third rail improvements, Network Rail is expanding its fleet of snow clearance and ice treatment trains to a total of 20 and the rail sector is improving its communications with passengers.
Justine Greening said:
”Severe cold weather will always cause some disruption but the Government has worked with our industry partners to minimise the impact on passengers and businesses in future. Both airports and the railway are much better prepared than in the past and our current salt stock in Britain is over 2.7m tonnes. Today I am announcing £16m of investment in our rail infrastructure to help keep trains moving in snow and ice.”
“But I’m also asking the industry to raise its game and communicate better with passengers in severe weather. However much resilience train operators have built in, when problems do occur it’s a lack of information that makes delays so frustrating and makes it more difficult for passengers to plan their journeys.”
The Secretary of State has in recent weeks seen for herself some of the improvements to winter resilience this year, at Heathrow Airport and Felixstowe Port, for example. Yesterday the Regional Cabinet in Ipswich also discussed plans for winter preparedness this year.
- The report Winter Resilience in Transport: an assessment of the case for additional investment was published today.
- The Transport Secretary has asked the UK Roads Board to consider further road salt and local highways issues in the report, including gritter calibration and operator training, the potential for local authorities to share storage facilities and the cost effectiveness of setting up an advisory service to help local authorities identify whether they could achieve cost savings by investing in equipment needed for pre-wet treatments.
- Heathrow and Gatwick airports have made significant investments in more snow and ice clearance capacity and improved their operational procedures. Heathrow has already committed to investing over £30m to improve resilience and Gatwick has invested £8m in its snow and ice clearance fleets following last winter. Both airports have significantly increased their stocks of de-icer.
- Across Government, action is being taken to plan for winter disruption. The Met Office has recently improved its National Severe Weather Service, allowing more targeted forecast of potential impacts from severe weather this winter and providing a range of forecasts out to 30 days publicly available on its website. The Department of Health has a Cold Weather Plan, as part of efforts to prevent illness and injury in cold weather. The Department for Communities and Local Government is liaising with local authorities to ensure access to road salt for all strategic consumers including police, ports, hospitals and services for the vulnerable.
- Current salt stock for Great Britain at the end of October 2011 is 2,755,000 tonnes, including strategic stockpiles of 539,000 tonnes and Highways Agency operational salt stock.
- The Government has also joined up with voluntary sector partners and industry bodies to encourage individual, families and communities to think about what winter preparations they need to make. The “Getting Ready for Winter” initiative highlights some simple and straight forward advice. Including top tips on keeping warm, healthy and safe this winter. The get Ready for winter web page is available on Directgov
- The Department for Transport is exploring with Transport Scotland, the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association how to broker agreement across a group of businesses and local authorities in England and Scotland to trial the temporary use of snow ploughs attached to certain types of heavy duty vehicles to help clear important routes between key distribution centres and the strategic road network. Where necessary, Ministers will consider relaxing certain weights and dimensions legislation to facilitate this.
Press Enquiries: 020 7944 3108
Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292
Public Enquiries: 0300 330 3000
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Weather disasters increasing from climate change, says UN Fast mitigation is best adaptation
Posted by admin on November 18th, 2011
Washington, DC, November 18, 2011 – A definitive UN science report released today confirms the link between climate change and extreme weather events, including punishing heat waves, droughts, and torrential rains and resulting floods.
The report warns that the U.S. will suffer heat waves, droughts, and more powerful hurricanes like Irene, with vulnerable people and places likely to suffer most from extreme weather, including low-lying island States facing sea level rise and stronger storm surges, and drought-prone countries in Africa.
New York released its own climate study this week, predicting that with expected sea level rise and stronger storms, future hurricanes could flood the tunnels into Manhattan within an hour and put one-third of the city underwater, with climate induced impacts beginning within a decade. The cost of US weather disasters in 2011 is already approaching $ 50 billion, according to the National Climate Data Center.
It is now certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases and warming aerosols like black carbon are increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather by putting more heat energy into the climate system.
“These climate change impacts have become so clear and so close now that we need fast, aggressive mitigation if we hope to avoid the worst consequences,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development.
“Fast mitigation is the best adaptation,” Zaelke added. “Fast mitigation means cutting short-lived climate forcers, including black carbon, ground-level ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, used in refrigeration. Cutting these non-CO2 climate forcers can be done quickly and inexpensively using existing technologies and in most cases existing laws and institutions.” This can cut the rate of global warming in half for several decades and the rate of warming in the Arctic by two-thirds, according to a report by the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization.
Vulnerable island States, along with the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, are calling on the Montreal Protocol ozone treaty to reduce HFCs. The parties will be discussing an HFC phase-down next week at their annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
Zaelke stated, “States and cities need to start thinking how they will pay for adaptation and for cleaning up after extreme weather events, including following the precedent set by states in their battle with tobacco companies, which included lawsuits to recoup health care costs the states were paying to care for victims of tobacco injuries.” The lawsuits resulted in a historic $ 350 billion national tobacco settlement.
Addressing climate change also requires cutting emissions of CO2, the principal greenhouse gas, protecting and expanding forests and other “carbon sinks” that remove and store CO2, and developing other CO2 removal strategies to draw down excess CO2 from the atmosphere on a time scale of decades, rather than the millennial time scale of the natural CO2 removal process.
Contact Info: Candice Wu: +1.202.338.1300; [email protected]
Website : Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
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