Swan rescued after being stranded in empty pool in Gedling
She said she was concerned about the impact ongoing warm weather could have on wildlife in the country park."It was a sad view on Friday when I came down and he was just sitting there in the mud," she said. "We believe he was injured last year so he couldn't walk for a while and then he didn't learn to fly so was just left on his own."With the water disappearing, he was just left with nowhere to go. With the dry spell I think we just need to help the animals the best we can."Ms Healey added: "It's not just swans, ducks or the big birds that are impacted, it's also all the other animals; you can see the water snails just lying dead after the water just evaporated."
Nick Godsell-Fletcher, who runs his food truck business outside the country park that overlooks the lagoon, said it was "amazing news" that a new home had been found for the swan.The 55-year-old, from Sherwood, said: "To watch the pond go down as it has done and to see the swan left on its own - it was heartbreaking."Swans mate for life, so now he can go off and now find a partner, because being there on his own he was never going to find somebody."It would be nice if there was some sort of irrigation system that was put in - the same as the other ponds - because then at least this would have a chance to fill up with what little water there is."
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Times
11 hours ago
- Times
How to remake our houses and cities for hotter weather
Forget the price of Oasis tickets or the shrinking size of strawberries — the big debate of the British summer is how to adapt our homes and cities to cope with heatwaves. As temperatures spike, 80 per cent of households report they're overheating, soaring from 18 per cent in 2011, according to a study from the University of East London. Meanwhile our city streets turn into 'urban heat islands', where, according to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, temperatures can now be 10-15C higher than rural surroundings. The Savills City Heat Resilience Index assesses 30 global cities based on their risk of extreme heat and resilience to it. London is in the bottom half, at No 13, between Madrid (12) and New York (14). A trio of Nordic cities, where days over 30C are rare, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm fare best. Cairo comes last. • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement 'The heat creeps in through south-facing glass, across bare concrete pavements, into bedrooms that don't cool at night,' says Stefan Pitman, founder of the architects and chartered surveyors SPASE Design. 'Our homes, designed for damp and draughts, are becoming glasshouses. Cities and homes trap heat they can't release. We are far too reliant on mechanical cooling that isn't sustainable.' Learning from places that have long lived with heat and embracing the modern principles of Passivhaus is the way forward, say experts. This means buildings thick walls, shaded courtyards and cross-breezes, and also controlling solar gain, insulating well and aiming for airtightness balanced with mechanical ventilation. The UK's urban planners look overseas for solutions, from the cool roofs now mandatory in Los Angeles, to the green urban walls of Colombia and the fountains of Paris. 'We need insulated windows for both winter and summer, so indoors keeps both warm and cool,' says the architect Marion Baeli, principal of sustainability and transformation at 10 Design. 'Architects think of a home like a Thermos flask, in winter retaining heat, in summer keeping heat out.' Baeli and her husband, Robert Prewett, a fellow architect, have transformed their 1960s home in Sydenham, southeast London, on Passivhaus principles to maintain a steady indoor temperature, even during heatwaves. They have fitted triple glazing to help achieve this. Solar control coatings can help to mitigate heat as well. 'Passive solar design plays a key role [in keeping homes cool], but historic recommendations, such as large south-facing glazing, are being re-evaluated in light of current overheating risks,' says the architect Richard Dudzicki, director of RDA Architects. External shading is gradually becoming a feature of new-builds. The building services engineering specialist Dan Watt, director of sustainability at the civil engineers Civic, highlights a Birmingham apartment development where horizontal brise soleil fins were incorporated for shading and heat reduction in summer, but allowing lower winter sunlight through. • Heatwaves are hell in my new-build flat Deeper window reveals also help to reduce direct solar gain. Quick fixes include awnings and shutters. Internal blinds are another easy add. Baeli uses cloth dust sheets, strong hooks and bungee cord to fashion a makeshift blind for the hottest days: 'It works tremendously. I'm not ready to invest thousands on motorised blinds.' Ventilation is key to keeping homes cool, says Ian Pritchett, a physicist and the co-founder of the sustainable developer Greencore Homes. 'The best way to let heat out is by opening doors and windows, if safe to do so, early in the morning and/or late at night to let hot air out and cool air in. Maximise impact by creating natural cross-ventilation, opening opposite windows to create a good flow of air.' If you can, practise 'stack ventilation': 'This is where high-level windows or roof lights are opened as well as low-level windows. The hot air goes out of the upper windows while cooler air is drawn in through the lower windows.' Struggling to sleep in a heatwave? You're not alone. A study by Loughborough University in partnership with the BRE (Building Research Establishment) found that 4.6 million English bedrooms — some 19 per cent of housing stock — overheat in summer. 'Thoughtful layout plays a big part. Where possible we'll sometimes place bedrooms on the cooler, shaded side of the house, or even downstairs where it naturally stays cooler,' says Venetia Rudebeck, co-founder at the interior design company Studio Vero. You've got to be flexible if you're working from hom, says Baeli. 'In a heatwave you're not working where your desk is, you're working where it's coolest,' she says. 'In our house the ground floor has a lot of thermal mass, thanks to the party walls and tiles on the floor [it absorbs heat during the day, releasing it slowly at night]. I usually work at the top of the house, but when it's hot I migrate down to the kitchen table.' Even the smallest balcony or garden can be effectively cooled if you choose container-friendly specimens — such as dwarf field maple or the compact Juneberry (Amelanchier × grandiflora 'Ballerina'), says Dean Meadows, principal arboriculturist and tree risk lead at the ecology consultancy Arbtech. 'Start by noting where the sun strikes your home and garden at different times. Once you know which areas need protection from intense sunlight, choose a deciduous tree whose mature canopy will intercept those rays and whose roots can spread without causing damage.' Meadows recommends field maple or silver birch: 'These give dappled spring light and full shade through the summer, yet let winter sun through their bare branches.' Thinking about overheating when planning home design should become second nature, says senior project architect George Yallop at the design studio De Rosee Sa, who introduced multiple cooling techniques in a recent project in Dulwich, southeast London. 'The extension in our Garden House project was designed with passive cooling in mind,' Yallop explains. 'The extension itself is slightly elevated from the garden, enhancing airflow beneath and through the room, while full-width sliding doors allow the home to be completely opened once the sun has set.' Yallop added a narrow, solar-coated rooflight to bring in light without overheating, while mature garden trees were retained for natural shade and cooling. Being smarter about choice of building materials, is a straightforward way to address overheating, says Simon McWhirter, CEO of the UK Green Building Council: 'Each type of material is better or worse at controlling the speed at which heat passes through it. Lots of natural materials such as hemp or clay plasters are much better at slowing down the heat, so whether it's winter or summer, they are much better at keeping the heat in and keeping the heat out.' For some homes, from flats with single-aspect windows to period properties that can't be significantly altered, it's air conditioning. 'In a new-build tower, with apartments, you have to accept that even with all the improvements you can think of, fitting air conditioning will be the only answer [to overheating],' says Baeli. 'However, I do know someone who lives in such an apartment and made an agreement with their opposite neighbour that they would leave their front doors and windows open to encourage a cool flow of air.' Colombia's second-largest city, Medellín, has created an entire metropolis of shade with its Green Corridors project. This transformed roads and waterways into green cycling lanes and walkways connecting the city's parks, reducing temperatures in these areas by 3C. Meanwhile, in central Manchester, McWhirter cites Mayfield, a 24-acre brownfield site transformed into a 'pocket park' as a stand-out UK example of how green spaces can help to keep urban temperatures cool and improve general wellbeing. 'Nature is good at doing the heavy lifting,' he says. Also in Greater Manchester, at Stretford Kingsway, Trafford, part of a dual carriageway has been reclaimed into a green walkway and cycleway, with a shade-giving weeping willow tree and sustainable urban drainage. Blue corridors are urban bodies of water — rivers, canals, docks — which provide respite from scorching heat. Helping to reduce the temperature of the air around them, they also provide a chance to cool off (subject to pollution levels of course) with wild swimming, paddleboarding and other water sports. • Inside the model estate testing the government's plans for eco-homes One stand-out example is Eden Dock (formerly Middle Dock) in the concrete jungle of Canary Wharf, London, designed by the architectural partnership Howells and HTA. Surrounded by timber decking and lush planting, it connects workers and residents with surrounding water and nature. 'Urban trees act as natural air conditioners and serve as a critical nature-based solution to rising temperatures in towns and cities,' says Meadows. Trees work their magic in three ways: shading streets and buildings; evapotranspiration, in which trees draw water from the soil, releasing it as water vapour through their leaves to create a cooling effect; and by helping urban airflow, replacing warm, stagnant air with cooler air drawn from surrounding green spaces. US cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix are coating roads with a heat-reflecting white/grey coating that can reduce the surface temperature by up to 9C. Standard asphalt creates a heat sink by absorbing huge amounts of sunlight then emitting it back into the air as heat. It's said that this super-thin coating works by reflecting sunlight away. Cities across India, plus New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Toronto in Canada are already painting rooftops with white reflective paint. It could work in London too. According to research published last year by University College London, this kind of approach is more successful at heat mitigation than green roofs, covered in vegetation. In London, it could lower outdoor urban temperatures by at least 1.2C. Increasing public tree cover helps to keep cities cooler, but it's expensive and planting is limited by underground infrastructure, says Tom Fox, associate partner at We Made That, a research, urban design and architecture practice. He adds: 'This means awnings and shade structures are important to providing sufficient shade to have a meaningful impact on temperatures.' In Seville, Spain, which in 2022 became the first city to start naming its heatwaves, Antonio Muñoz, the mayor at the time, ordered the installation of awnings across the city as part of a 'policy of shade', which also included planting 5,000 trees a year and building more public fountains. Parisians benefit from a network of more than 800 'cool islands', accessible city spaces including parks, misting fountains, swimming pools and museums, providing relief from vicious heat. There's even a mapping app, Extrema, to help residents find their nearest chilled outpost. 'These developments are necessary because Europe is warming faster than the global average,' says Elena Rivilla-Lutterkort, Savills's head of sustainability in France. 'Paris is working under an assumption that an average increase of 4C is a likely scenario.' In dense urban environments, heat emitting from buildings contributes to scorching outdoor temperatures. In Abu Dhabi, where the mercury can climb to more than 50C, architecture practice Aedas designed the twin 25-storey Al Bahar Towers using mashrabiya, an ancient Arabic cooling technique using honeycomb-like latticed screens. These 1,000 unfolding hexagonal shades have built-in sensors, responding to the sun. The architects estimate this reduces solar gain by more than 50 per cent, diminishing the need for air conditioning. Dubai also has district cooling. Water is collected and chilled at a centralised location and then piped into residential and commercial buildings. According to Savills, district cooling achieves energy-efficiency index ratings between five and ten times higher than conventional air-conditioning units.
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Exact hour Storm Floris will hit UK with 85mph winds as ‘danger to life' warning blankets half of nation
STORM Floris is expected to hit the UK in just days with forecasters issuing a 'danger to life' warning for many parts of the nation. Britain will be battered by "unseasonably strong winds" of up to 85mph, says the Met Office. 4 The yellow wind warnings will be in place from 6am on Monday morning. As well as strong gusts, torrential rain is also expected to fall across huge sections of the country. Scottish coastlines and high ground may even see wind gusts of up to 85mph. A yellow wind warning has been issued for Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland, and north Wales on Monday. The warning is expected to stay in force until 6am on Tuesday. "Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties," said the weather agency. Brits have also been warned of property damage such as "tiles blown from roofs" and risk of injury from "flying debris". "Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage," the warning added. Disruption to public transport services and delays on the roads are also predicted. The strong winds will first begin to ease in the west on late Monday, but remain very strong until early Tuesday in the east. Ireland set for major weather shakeup over Bank Holiday as storm to bring 'unseasonably' high winds & potential warnings Matthew Lehnert, a Met Office Chief Meteorologist, said: 'Across the warning area, many inland areas are likely to see gusts of 40-50mph, with 60-70mph more likely at higher elevations and around exposed coasts in Scotland. "There is a small chance that some locations here could even record gusts of 85mph.' A spokesperson for the weather agency added on X: "Storm Floris has been named. "Unseasonably strong winds, gales in the north, locally severe and accompanied by heavy rain. Disruption possible." RAC breakdown service's Rod Dennis said: 'This unseasonable bout of stormy weather will mean drivers in the north and west of the UK need to take extra care at the start of next week. 'It's the height of the holiday season, so those towing trailers and caravans, as well as those with roof and tent boxes, must ensure their loads are properly secured.' He advised motorists driver slower in poor conditions and leave later if the weather is too bad. The expert also urged drivers to avoid exposed highland and coastal routes. Storm Floris is the sixth named storm of this Storm Naming season. It comes after Storm Éowyn which hit in late January and sparked several weather warnings. Gusts of 100mph were recorded at Drumalbin in Scotland, the Met Office said. 4 4 UK five day weather forecast Today A dry day for most on Friday with sunny spells. Showers developing across central and eastern England, some turning locally heavy in the afternoon with the odd rumble of thunder possible. Near average temperatures, feeling pleasant in the sunshine. Tonight Any afternoon showers fading away leaving a dry evening for most with some late sunshine. Dry overnight with clear periods and turning cool in the countryside with patchy fog possible. Saturday A dry day with plenty of sunshine and generally small amounts of cloud. Feeling warm in the sunshine with light winds, though a little breezy in some coastal areas. Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday Breezier on Sunday with rain clearing to sunnier skies later. Turning unsettled and unseasonably windy on Monday with some disruption possible. Drier but still rather windy on Tuesday.
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Boy, 13, swept into STORM drain after playing outside during flooding
A Maryland boy died after getting swept into a storm drain while playing outside during deadly flash flooding. The unnamed 13-year-old was with a group of friends outside their Mount Airy apartment complex, approximately 40 miles west of Baltimore, when a severe storm hit Thursday. The teen became trapped amid the height of the storm at around 5.20pm, according to the Mount Airy Police Department. Desperate neighbors frantically tried to pull him from the rapidly rising waters but were unsuccessful. 'I flew out of the car, jumped into the water and started yanking on him. We just couldn't get him out,' neighbor Maggie McBain told WBAL. First responders arrived at the scene and found the boy 'waist deep' in water rising 'very quickly', Doug Alexander, the public information officer for the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company, told WJZ. 'The pipe is so small, and this is a child's body that fits in there, was pushed in there by the current,' Alexander said. 'The current was extremely strong, according to the guys who were on the scene here. 'I've been in this with the Mt. Airy Fire Department for 58 years, and this is, this is one of the worst situations I've seen.' The operation tragically shifted from rescue to recovery. 'The individual was ultimately recovered from the storm drain but, unfortunately, succumbed to injuries sustained during the event,' Police Chief Michael Ginevra added. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. 'We ask the community to keep them in their hearts and to recognize the dedication of the first responders who answered the call without hesitation.' Most of the state was under a flash flood watch Thursday evening and experienced severe storms, reported Fox45. Mount Airy was pelted with five inches of rain in a matter of hours. One neighbor, Chadwick Colson, told the local news outlets he saw some kids playing outside the Mount Airy apartment complex when the rain started. 'Playing around, jumping across the water, because when it rains it really kind of comes through here like a river,' Colson said. He explained that his apartment was flooded with water up to his ankles and that he was worried about having to move. 'I don't know if we can stay here tonight,' Colson said late Thursday. 'One, the apartments flooded, and two, that's 40 feet from my door. You would think it would be some type of metal bars, metal grate, something blocking the hole.' Senator Justin Ready also paid tribute to the rescue workers and expressed condolences to the victim's family. 'Absolutely horrific news in Mt. Airy this evening due to this storm,' he said. 'Our whole community's deepest condolences to the family of this young person. Thank you to first responders for their efforts. This is just awful'
