Category: Environment

Some areas have been struck by more than a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours…reports Asian Lite News

A fresh weather warning has been issued – bringing the potential for heavy rain, strong winds and the risk of yet more flooding.

Some areas have been struck by more than a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours – with rising waters damaging homes and making roads impassable.

Earlier on Tuesday commuters faced difficult driving conditions and some road closures, along with disruption to rail services. The yellow warning applies for the whole of Thursday, covering an area from Nottinghamshire to Northumberland.

The Met Office said: “A period of heavy and persistent rain is expected to affect parts of northern England and north Midlands during much of Thursday. “The heaviest rainfall is likely to be across the Pennines and North York Moors where 80-100 mm of rainfall could accumulate during the course of the day.

“Strong winds may also affect coastal locations and routes over high ground.”

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued flood warnings – the second highest alert level – for several areas of England including across parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and Somerset.

The agency has said further light rainfall is expected over the next 12 hours which will keep river levels high. The respective agencies in Scotland or Wales have not issued any warnings.

It comes after parts of Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire saw more than 100mm of rain in the last 48 hours, with Woburn in Bedfordshire recording 142.8mm, more than twice its September average rainfall, according to the Met Office.

The flooding has damaged homes and continued to cause travel disruption on Tuesday, according to National Highways. The A421 remains shut in both directions between M1 (J13) and A6 (Bedford south).

Rail services have also been affected in some areas, according to National Rail, including Chiltern Railways between Birmingham Snow Hill / Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone, while buses are replacing trains between Bletchley and Bedford on London Northwestern.

Emergency services in Northamptonshire are also helping to evacuate the Billing Aquadrome over flooding at the park site. Management has already sounded the evacuation sirens for the site and people staying there were asked to leave, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue said in a statement.

They added West Northamptonshire Council teams are carrying out welfare checks on any vulnerable people, and said all emergency services will remain at the site throughout the evening.

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At least 45 homes flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent and the Home Counties…reports Asian Lite News

Parts of the UK were struck by flash flooding after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. Heavy rain left parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged, flooding properties and causing widespread travel disruption.

At least 45 homes flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent and the Home Counties, according to the Environment Agency.

The A421 in Bedfordshire was closed in both directions between the A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine, according to National Highways, and the A5 in Buckinghamshire was closed northbound between the A421 Bletchley/Stadium MK and the A509 at Milton Keynes due to flooding.

Some schools in Bedfordshire were also closed, with an update on Central Bedfordshire Council’s website citing water ingress/flooding as being the reason for the closure.

The London Underground’s District Line was not running between Turnham Green and Richmond due to flooding caused by heavy rain, while other Tube lines in London were also partly suspended throughout the day.

London Fire Brigade said its 999 control office took around 350 calls about flooding across the capital. Firefighters attended incidents including rescuing people trapped in cars, assisting people from their homes and responding to flooding in underground stations, roadways, residences and commercial properties, in Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton.

AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday has been called off due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

The Cherry Red Records Stadium in Wimbledon, which appeared to have a sinkhole in the pitch, has been closed as a result, with a rescheduled date for the tie yet to be confirmed.

A yellow alert for rain came into effect at midnight on Sunday and lasted until midnight on Monday, covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and spreading into northwest England and Yorkshire.

An amber warning came into force at 8.15am and lasted until 9pm on Monday.

Initially it covered Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull, but an update from the Met Office said the warning area had shifted further south and southwest to include Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.

Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said “persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms” could lead to some property flooding and travel disruption. She said: “Persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms could lead to significant surface water flooding on Monday across parts of England.

“The impacts could include localised flooding in urban areas and fast-responding catchments, including some property flooding as well as travel disruption. The risk from river flooding remains low. We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”

Many places have basked in higher-than-average temperatures over the last few weeks – but that was probably summer’s last hurrah as autumn beds in. Monday’s downpours are forecast to ease overnight into Tuesday, but the rain is set to be persistent for many this week.

“Through Wednesday and Thursday, unsettled weather is set to return as frontal systems move in from the Atlantic, bringing showers or longer spells of rain to many parts of the UK,” said Met Office deputy chief meteorologist David Oliver.

Meanwhile, Sunday also marked the autumnal equinox – when the day and night are the same length.

Astronomers regard it as the start of the season but weather forecasters generally count autumn as beginning on 1 September.

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Friday’s alert covers most of south-west England, parts of Wales, the Midlands and west London and is in place from 12pm until 8pm….reports Asian Lite News

Thunderstorms and lightning are expected to batter the UK with up to 70mm of rainfall expected within a few hours after a spell of dry, warm weather.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms for Friday and Saturday, and said damage to buildings as a result of lightning strikes, disruption to public transport and flooding should be expected within the affected areas.

Friday’s alert covers most of south-west England, parts of Wales, the Midlands and west London and is in place from 12pm until 8pm.

The second warning is in place all of Saturday from 1am and covers all of Wales and south-west England, the Midlands and parts of south-east England.

The weather service has said that hail and frequent lightning could accompany the “thunderstorms and heavy showers” and that up to 70mm of rain could fall in the worst affected areas on Saturday.

The stormy weather follows a warm, dry spell as temperatures reached 25C in Inverness on Wednesday while the mercury hit the same high in south-east England on Thursday, according to the forecaster.

The Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We are being spoiled by almost summer’s last hurrah, but there’s a bit of a change coming down the line as we move our way through towards Friday, and especially the weekend.”

A “gentle decline” in temperature is expected over the weekend, with highs of 24C forecast for East Anglia on Saturday followed by low 20s in the area on Sunday, he added.

As of 17 September, the UK has had an average rainfall of 49.5mm this month, which is typical for this time of year, Stroud said.

“Successive bands of rain” and “normal conditions for autumn” are expected next week, he added.

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Foreign Secretary warned UK’s previous funding commitments on the issue would have to be reviewed given the “dire” state of the country’s finances…reports Asian Lite News

The foreign secretary has said climate change is a more pervasive and fundamental threat than terrorism. In his maiden speech, 100 days after taking office, David Lammy said the climate issue, along with a decline in nature, would be “central to all the Foreign Office does”.

He also announced the government would launch a global initiative to accelerate the rollout of clean energy. But Lammy warned the UK’s previous funding commitments on the issue would have to be reviewed given the “dire” state of the country’s finances.

The foreign secretary made clear the government considered action on climate change and nature the focus of every department. “The threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat. But it is more fundamental. It is systemic, it’s pervasive and accelerating towards us at pace,” he said.

He also said: “While I am foreign secretary, action on the climate and nature crisis will be central to all the Foreign Office does. This is critical given the scale of the threat, but also the scale of the opportunity.” As evidence of that united front, Ed Miliband, the new energy secretary, echoed the same sentiments in his first major public speech on Tuesday morning, at an Energy UK event.

Both were keen to emphasise that action on this issue would bring benefits to the British people, not just costs – as conservative MPs and unions have previously warned. “We know we can only deliver energy security, lower bills and good jobs for today’s generations if we become a clean energy superpower,” Miliband said.

He blamed the recent hike in energy prices on the UK’s reliance on oil and gas. “The central lesson of the crisis for Britain is that we paid a heavy price because of our exposure to fossil fuels. The government’s view is we cannot go on like this,” Miliband said.

Lammy made his speech at Kew Gardens, in the nation’s capital, but it was clear he wanted to send a message not just to a national audience, but to a global one, that the UK would be leading on climate action internationally. “This domestic programme is not just essential to our economy but to restoring our international credibility… we are ending our diplomacy of ‘do as I say, not as I do’,” he said.

He said he wanted the UK to help developing nations in their rollout of renewable energy, and support regions, such as the Caribbean, in recovering from the impacts of climate events.

In this vein, he announced the government would create two new special representatives for climate and nature who would provide advice and support to the government. And it would establish a global clean power alliance, in which the country could share experience and expertise from its own transition away from fossil fuels.

The move has been welcomed by international environmental groups and aid agencies.

Hannah Bond, co-CEO at ActionAid UK, said: “We are encouraged to see the new UK government take the first step in seriously addressing the urgent climate crisis impacting billions worldwide, after years of delayed promises and empty gestures.”

This summer has brought record flooding to parts of the world, as more extreme weather events like hurricanes and cyclones have battered North America and parts of South East Asia.

Storm Boris has brought havoc to Central and Eastern Europe in recent days – with dozens of people killed or missing as a result of flooding. Although it is too early to attribute this event to climate change, scientists have predicted the region will get wetter as a result of rising temperatures.

Lammy’s speech did end with a warning though – that despite the government’s commitments to the issue, this may not extend to financing it.

He would not guarantee the previous Conservative government pledge to provide £11.6bn to developing countries to respond and recover from climate change. This is despite the energy secretary promising to keep the pledge in July at a meeting of international climate ministers.

The foreign secretary said that his current focus was “on how we can actually deliver that promise given the dire financial inheritance from the last government”. Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said the government must remain committed to its international pledges.

“To avoid perpetuating existing injustice and inequality, countries least responsible for causing the climate crisis and most vulnerable to its impacts must be supported with extra public finance from developed countries,” she said.

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Sixth renewables auction delivers record smashing 131 clean energy projects powering equivalent of 11 million homes. New wind and solar farms to support mission to bring bills down and boost economic growth…reports Asian Lite News

Millions of homes and businesses across Britain will be powered by a new supply of clean, cheap, homegrown energy as a record number of projects receive funding through the government’s most successful renewables auction to date.  

The new projects will support the mission to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030 and hit net zero in 2050, helping transform the country into a clean energy superpower. 

In a key milestone towards delivering clean power by 2030, the latest auction round delivered 131 new green infrastructure projects. This makes it the biggest round ever with significant numbers for onshore wind, solar and tidal energy, which will power the equivalent of 11 million British homes.   The results are a marked improvement on the previous auction round in 2023, which saw zero offshore wind projects agreed. 

These successful results come after the government last month moved quickly to increase the budget by 50% – a record funding uplift and 7 times bigger than the previous round’s pot.  

As a result, offshore wind is back for business in UK waters – the backbone of the clean energy mission – with 9 contracts awarded including securing both what will be Europe’s largest and second largest windfarm projects, Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4 off the Yorkshire coast.

A new rollout of low-carbon electricity is a key step for UK energy independence and energy security, helping protect families and businesses from spiking global fossil fuel prices.  

Projects have been agreed at well below the upper limit on the price set for the auction – meaning the government has bought a record amount of clean power at much lower cost to consumers than the maximum price – providing value for money and cheap power.

Funding awarded also help support new green jobs across the country, increasing prosperity in industrial heartlands and rural communities, and unlocking green economic growth from the Scottish Highlands to the Suffolk coast.  

“We inherited a broken energy policy, including last year’s disastrous auction round which gave us no successful offshore wind projects,” said Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary.  “Today we have now achieved a record-setting round for enough renewable power for 11 million homes, essential to give energy security to families across the country. It is another significant step forward in our mission for clean power by 2030 – bringing Britain energy independence and lower bills for good.”

These results show that together, this government and the energy industry are securing investment into our country. This auction has produced a record number of solar projects bolstering our mission for a solar revolution, we have powered forward with onshore wind, secured the largest commercial floating offshore wind project in the world and got the offshore industry back on its feet.   

As we accelerate our plan for clean power by 2030 the government will work with the industry on how we can build on this success to ensure we can go even further and faster to deliver the power we need.

On the back of this successful auction, the Energy Secretary is working with the industry to accelerate ways that the Contracts for Difference system and other energy policies can be expanded, so that more renewable energy, including offshore wind, can be connected to the grid, and quicker.  

The 131 projects this year is the biggest auction to date – exceeding the 92 projects delivered in the last auction round. 

This includes:   the largest offshore windfarm project in Europe – the Hornsea 3 project off the Yorkshire coast; the largest floating offshore wind project in the world to reach market, Green Volt, which is double the size of Europe’s total installed floating offshore wind capacity; 6 new tidal projects, building on the UK’s world leading position, with just under half of the world’s operational tidal stream capacity being situated in UK water; a combined 115 solar and onshore wind projects, which is more than the total number of projects delivered in the last auction round .

“Securing new wind turbines, solar panels and cutting-edge technologies such as tidal will boost growth, catalyse investment and support good jobs across Great Britain,” said Energy Minister Michael Shanks. “ We’ve done this while ensuring value for money for billpayers, delivering the biggest auction round to date at competitive prices, helping turbocharge our mission for energy independence and clean power by 2030.”

Today’s announcement is the latest step the government has taken to accelerate the mission for clean, secure power by 2030. In just 3 months the government has:   lifted the ban on onshore wind in England; launched Great British Energy in partnership with the Crown Estate, backed by £8.3 billion of new money, which is estimated to create up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments reaching seabed lease stage by 2030; approved 3 major solar farms powering the equivalent of around 400,000 new homes; launched its Clean Energy Mission Control centre, led by former Climate Change Committee Chief Executive Chris Stark, to accelerate the deployment of clean power.

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Hammersmith & Fulham’s Waste Team Rolls Out New Electric Fleet to Cut Carbon Footprint…reports Asian Lite News

Hammersmith & Fulham’s waste team is stepping up its efforts to reduce the borough’s carbon footprint with the introduction of 20 new electric vehicles. This eco-friendly fleet will be used for various tasks, including collecting food and general waste, emptying recycling bins, cleaning public footways, and removing illegally dumped fly-tipping.

The new fleet, which consists of electric cargo bikes, vans, and cage trucks, was launched in July in collaboration with contractors Veolia at an event held in Furnival Gardens. This initiative supports Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s ongoing commitment to becoming one of the greenest boroughs in the country.

Councillor Sharon Holder, H&F Cabinet Member for Public Realm, praised the new vehicles, saying, “Our waste team continues to ensure H&F’s parks and streets are safe and clean for residents, visitors, and local wildlife. The new vehicles will help us go one step further as the waste team will now also be helping to reduce air pollution while they work.”

The council’s transition to electric vehicles is part of a broader strategy to create a cleaner, greener, and quieter borough. Following the success of the parks maintenance team’s switch to electric tools in 2022, the waste team has now joined the movement toward sustainable operations. The new electric vehicles produce no exhaust emissions, significantly reducing local air pollution levels and contributing to cleaner air for residents.

The new fleet will also help reduce noise pollution in the area, as electric vehicles operate much more quietly than their diesel and petrol counterparts. This quieter operation will be especially beneficial in H&F’s parks and residential streets, providing a more pleasant environment for everyone.

The fleet includes eight electric cargo bikes, specifically chosen to navigate hard-to-reach areas like the Thames Pathway, reducing the need for petrol-powered vans. Additionally, old petrol and diesel vehicles will be replaced with electric vans and cage trucks, which will be used to collect fly-tipped waste and manage public litter bins.

This initiative underscores Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and enhancing the quality of life for its residents. By integrating electric vehicles into its operations, the council is taking proactive steps to reduce its carbon footprint and foster a healthier, more sustainable community.

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