Date to fix Caversham sinkhole outside homes not yet set
The water company said: "We understand that the delay in starting works has caused frustration, and we want to reassure residents that we're doing everything we can to move things forward."We apologise for the delay and thank residents for their continued patience and understanding. We'll provide another update as soon as the start date is confirmed."
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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
How to track temperature change over the years
If you wish to know current hourly temperatures across various weather stations in the UK then is the website for you. By clicking on a temperature symbol you can see the latest reading and comparisons with the rest of the day, the month, the year and even historical readings going back decades. As for 'normal', this is the temperature taken at the same time of day and time of year averaged over a 30-year period, from 1991 to 2020. This is a striking way of showing how the country's climate is changing with rising temperatures — important benchmarks because it is easy to lose sight of how much hotter each place is becoming. The website, designed by Dan Harris and Ed Hawkins, was inspired by a similar idea in Australia. Another vivid example of changing climate is Hawkins's use of 'climate stripes', with various shades of red for hot and blue for cold, representing the average temperature for a single year going back over nearly two centuries. The result is a powerful way of showing how the climate has warmed not just in the UK but also across every country in the world, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels. As for this June in the UK, it comes as no surprise that it was hotter than normal, especially in the southeast and East Anglia, where last month's two heatwaves were concentrated. Many parts of the UK also suffered a severe lack of rain, with northeast, east, central and southeast England having particularly low rainfall after early June. The dry conditions followed six months with little rain that left many eastern and southern rivers with low levels of water. Reservoir storage has also declined across most areas after high demand in the hot weather, so it is no wonder that hosepipe bans may be coming shortly in Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and Southern Water areas.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
'Grass is playing like clay' - Wimbledon's 'slow' courts
Wimbledon 2025Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 JulyCoverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide. Conditions have been tough for the players at Wimbledon, but for some it is not just the high temperatures making things difficult - it is also the grass they are playing of those competing at the Grand Slam this week have said the balls are bouncing differently, while one player said it is like playing on clay - traditionally a much slower has been an especially hot start to the tournament, with Monday setting a record for the warmest opening day when the temperature reached 32.3C, while the mercury rose to 33.4C on women's champion Barbora Krejcikova voiced her thoughts on the surface after battling back to win her opening match against Alexandra Eala."There's not enough water, and it gets really, really yellow, very, very fast," she said."I think with the heat, yes, the grass is more like stopping. The game is just different [to] what you are normally used to." 'This isn't grass anymore' - what have players said? Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the number 27 seed at Wimbledon, was knocked out by Argentina's Mariano Navone in the first was broken six times by his opponent as he suffered his earliest exit at the tournament since 2019."The balls are the worst, the grass tour has turned into a joke," he said after his defeat."This isn't grass anymore, the court is slower than a clay one. It's not even grass."Two-time champion Petra Kvitova said things had changed over the years."I'm not sure if it's only grass," she said after her final appearance at the All England Club ended in a defeat by 10th seed Emma Navarro. "Maybe it's the balls, as well. Overall it's getting slower."Eight top-10 seeded players have exited in the first round - the highest tally at a single Grand Slam event in the Open those to be knocked out was American third seed Jessica Pegula, who said the courts at Wimbledon "felt different" but added: "That's grass – they're all kind of different. It's a living surface, they're not going to play the same."Poland's former world number one Iga Swiatek, who beat Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 in her first-round match, feels the Wimbledon courts are playing slower but expects things to change in the coming days."It [Wimbledon] was slower, and kind of more slippery with the movement," she said. "But also with the heat and everything the ball bounced differently than how it will in the coming days, so I'm not really focusing on that. "With the change of the weather we will have to adjust every day to the different conditions." What is the effect of slower courts? Slower courts lead to longer rallies as players have more time on the ball. It can therefore also lead to longer matches, which can be more physically draining for doubles player Dom Inglot told BBC Sport that courts had been getting slower since 2001. Before that, you would see players hitting serve and volley predominantly rather than the long baseline rallies you more often see believes part of the change is down to Wimbledon wanting to make the courts more aesthetically appealing after years where the courts looked very worn by the second week, while also wanting to deliver a better spectacle for fans."The idea was Wimbledon had to compete with the great rallies you were seeing at the Australian Open, US Open, French Open," he said. "Serve and volley all the time was getting a bit mundane so they wanted more rallies and so there was discussion of do you change balls, do you change the court and I think they went with both."Inglot has been playing with this year's Wimbledon ball on hard courts and has found it is playing differently to last year's, and therefore expects that to be the case on also said the surfaces at different grass tournaments would play differently - including at the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton and Queen's - and so doing well on those surfaces may not translate to doing well at the All England Club. A slower surface means players need to adapt their tactics. "It was ridiculous to think you could hit a kick serve that would jump off the surface like a kick works on clay or hard courts – that was not imaginable 10 years ago, now kick is working," he said."It used to be slice serves and flat serves but now you're using kick serves because you're starting to get the ball moving away from opponents." What type of grass is used at Wimbledon? Wimbledon has not commented on whether this year's courts are slower than in previous years. Since 2001 the Wimbledon grass is comprised of perennial pyegrass, which is said to have the durability and strength to withstand the wear of the modern official website says that during the tournament the height of grass is eight millimetres and is cut every day, while a "little bit of water" is put on the courts overnight.A number of factors affect the speed of a court which include the compacting of the soil over time, as well as the weather before and during the and dry days should make a ball lighter and faster, while cold and damp days would make it seem heavier and soil, it says, largely determines the bounce of ball, not the have been no changes to the specification of the ball since 1995, when there was a very minimal alteration in compression.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Wave goodbye to the heat... for now! Brits to start cooling off as temperatures dip and rain is set to fall - but not for long
Britain is set to cool off tomorrow after a scorching heatwave that posed a 'risk to life' peaked today - but temperatures could near 30C again in parts of the UK by the end of the week. Sunseekers basked in searing 34.7C in St James's Park, London, this afternoon as the UK saw its hottest day of the year reached. Elsewhere across England, the seaside counties of Essex and Kent well surpassed 33C - a red-hot 34.4C being recorded in Writtle - which also almost nearly broke the hottest-ever July 1 on record. Those temperatures marked the end of a scorching heatwave that saw an amber alert deployed, which the Met Office say is only used when forecasters think there is a 'potential risk to life and property'. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) had activated a five-day warning starting on Friday due to concerns that there could be 'a rise in deaths, particularly among those ages 65 and over or with health conditions'. And while that alert has been extended until 9am tomorrow, much of the UK is expected to simmer from the boiling temperatures that have scorched the country, with rain now forecast in some parts. However, the heat in more southern areas could return with a vengeance by this weekend as forecasters are already predicting that the south east could be sizzling again by Friday. Delivering an update on the weather across the UK going into this evening and the rest of the week, Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said there was still a lot of humidity in parts of the UK. She said southern areas of England would hold at around 17C or 18C tonight which could make for 'another uncomfortable night for sleeping'. Ms Nasir added: 'Overnight tonight, rain will ease towards the north sea but still quite murky across Scotland, northern England, even the Midlands and eastern counties. 'It'll be cooler towards the north west with one or two showers, but yet again a muggy night down towards the south where we could see temperatures holding around 17C or 18C, so another uncomfortable night for sleeping. 'Temperatures are probably a degree or so lower than last night, even so. 'First thing tomorrow morning more clouds and some showery bursts are likely in the south. Generally a lot of clouds across eastern counties with some wet weather coming and going. 'It could actually intensify for a time with the risk of thunder through the morning before it clears towards the east. 'And then brighter skies for many as we head through the day with some sunshine, but showers will develop in situ, particularly for Northern Ireland, as well as Scotland and one or two for northern England. Low water levels at Baitings Reservoir reveal an ancient pack horse bridge in Ripponden today 'But a fine end to the day further south, temperatures not as high which is good news towards the south east where it's been fairly oppressive.' As the week continues, temperatures in the UK's south east look set to keep rising as the weekend approaches, with London predicted to hit 28C on Friday. Commuters to the city tomorrow morning should keep in mind that there is a chance of rain starting from 7am, which is 50 to 60 per cent likely after 10am until midday. Elsewhere, the south coast should remain at around 23C until the end of the week, while places like Birmingham and Manchester will sit in the low 20s. Further north, Newcastle is set to face a significant downpour tomorrow as the city's temperatures will hold at around 20C until the weekend, which also looks set to be gloomy and cloudy. And in Glasgow and Edinburgh, rain is expected from tomorrow until Sunday with temperatures across Scotland's central belt peaking at around 19C. Belfast is expected to be a similar climate. Meanwhile for Cardiff the sunny weather is set to continue into the weekend but things will quickly turn showery on Saturday and Sunday. The hottest-ever temperature for England was recorded on July 19, 2022, when Coningsby, Lincolnshire, saw an astonishing 40.3C reached. Yesterday's heat of 33C almost surpassed the hottest ever June day of 35.6C which was recorded in Southampton in 1976. And today's temperatures almost beat the hottest ever July 1 on record, which was in 2015 when temperatures hit 36.7C. By 1pm today the mercury had hit 33.5C (92.3F) at East Malling in Kent - making it the UK's hottest day of the year so far - beating the 33.2C (91.8F) on June 21 recorded in Surrey. Bedfordshire Council even said its gritters had been dispatched to protect the roads and provide grip for drivers amid fears the heat could cause the Tarmac to soften. Parts of southern England sweated through a tropical night, which happens when temperatures stay above 20C (68F) overnight into the morning. Some tennis fans slept in the early heat after sunrise as they queued for day two of Wimbledon, with British number one Jack Draper and reigning women's champion Barbora Krejcikova starting their campaigns at the All England Club today. And commuters on the London Underground faced travel chaos after a fire alert at South Kensington, which saw the Circle line completely suspended and the District and Hammersmith & City lines both part-suspended. A driver on one Tube train told passengers in an announcement that the fire was likely caused by the heat. An investigation by MailOnline revealed that the temperatures on the tubes surpassed the legal limit at which the UK Government's Animal and Plant Health Agency says it is too hot to transport livestock. So, while the heatwave officially ends after today, conditions will remain warm - with 25C (77F) tomorrow, 26C (79F) on Thursday, 28C (82F) on Friday and 24C (75F) this weekend in London. The hottest day of 2024 was 34.8C (94.6F) in Cambridge on August 12; while the peak in 2023 was 33.5C (92.3F) in Kent on September 10; and the 2022 high was 40.3C (104.5F) on July 19 in Lincolnshire - the UK's highest temperature on record. An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three days in a row, with thresholds varying from 25C (77F) to 28C (82F) in different areas. The sweltering heat meant yesterday was one of the hottest June days ever, with UK temperatures for the month only surpassing 34C (93.2F) in only three years since 1960. The hottest June day ever was 35.6C (96.1F), recorded on June 28, 1976. And yesterday was the hottest start to Wimbledon on record, with 29.7C (85.5F) being recorded at the nearby Kew Gardens. The previous record at the tennis championships - 29.3C (84.7F) - was set on June 25, 2001. It marks the second heatwave for parts of the UK this month, with scientists warning searing temperatures of 32C (90F) earlier in June were made 100 times more likely because of human-caused climate change, while the heatwave that gripped south-east England was 10 times likelier. They said heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, and experts have warned heatwaves are 'silent killers', with the impacts of heat severely underestimated. They also say that the UK is unprepared for the rising risk of extremely hot conditions that climate change is bringing - especially earlier in the summer, when people are less acclimatised to coping with it. Professor Richard Allan, from the University of Reading, said the UK was on the edge of a 'large dome of heat' over continental Europe which was driving the heat wave, while ocean temperatures were also up to 2C above average to the south-west of the UK and 'hotter still in the western Mediterranean'. 'The ebb and flow of gigantic atmospheric waves have generated the stable, cloud-free conditions for heat to build up across western Europe,' he said, but added that rising greenhouse gas levels due to human activities were making heat waves more intense. Temperatures have climbed above 40C in countries including Italy, Spain and Greece, with holiday destinations such as Rome, Milan and Naples under the highest heat alert, while Greece is on high wildfire alert. Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: 'The current spell of hot weather is forecast to continue until the middle of this week, with temperatures above 30C likely in most regions of England. 'We are reminding everyone to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun. 'Remember that it is very important to check on friends, family and neighbours who are more vulnerable, as the temperatures we are likely to see over the next few days can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions.' Dr Friederike Otto, associate professor at Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, said climate change was an 'absolute game-changer' for heat in Europe, making heat waves more frequent and more intense. 'Heat waves are called the silent killer, for a reason, every year thousands of people in Europe die due to extreme heat, particularly those that live in poorly insulated homes, on busy, polluted roads, and that already have health problems,' she said. 'But extreme heat also leads to agricultural losses, infrastructure failure and puts a big strain on plants and animals.' Meanwhile, the Business Secretary has said the UK does not need additional workplace laws which would allow Britons to be sent home during hot weather. Jonathan Reynolds said 'behavioural changes' like drinking plenty of water and staying protected in the sun were more important. There is no law nor guidance in the UK for minimum or maximum acceptable workplace temperatures, but employers must follow health and safety law to keep temperatures at a reasonable level. Mr Reynolds suggested a law change was not needed when asked if workers should be sent home in the event temperatures climb too high and there is no mitigation like air conditioning in place. He said: 'It is a hot day today for a northerner like myself. I'm struggling a little bit with it. 'There are existing laws in place, the health and safety acts, around what a safe workplace should be. I don't think we need more legislation in that area.' He added: 'Obviously, some behavioural changes, making sure people are hydrated, obviously are duly protected if they work, particularly outside. 'I think we have got to make sure that we're doing that. We shouldn't need additional laws.' Conservationists and green experts have warned of the wildfire risk of the heatwave as well as the impact on farmers, who face another poor harvest following one of the driest springs on record. Retailers warned today that fruit and vegetable prices in Britain have increased due to the hot and dry weather reducing harvest yields. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said this jump had contributed to shop prices having returned to inflation for the first time in almost a year. Overall shop prices were 0.4 per cent higher in June than a year earlier - a significant jump from the decline of 0.1 per cent seen in May, according to the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index. Food inflation increased to 3.7 per cent from May's 2.8 per cent in May, while fresh food was 3.2 per cent more expensive than a year ago. Meat prices have also been hit by high wholesale prices and more expensive labour costs. In terms of wildfires, Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation and restoration ecology at the National Trust, said: 'With record-breaking temperatures across the country this week following the driest spring on record, our ranger and countryside teams are on high alert for fires which can cause decades of damage to habitats, decimate ecosystems and result in significant losses to our wildlife. 'Unfortunately, the sad truth is that most of the fires in the UK that impact our landscapes are started by people, whether accidentally or not, rather than by natural causes. 'Therefore, we're calling on people to help us protect wildlife and habitats by acting responsibly when outdoors, as even a small spark can cause a fire, and to please call 999 if you see a fire or any suspicious behaviour.'
