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RTÉ News
02-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
England's wine industry growing due to warmer temperatures
England's wine industry has seen significant growth in recent years due to warmer temperatures brought about by climate change. In South Downs National Park, where many English vineyards are located, there has been a 90% increase in the past decade. An average of five new vineyards are grown there every year. Overall, in Britain, there are approximately 4,000 hectares of land "under vine", with forecasts predicting it could almost double by 2032. Growing industry One company adapting to the changing temperatures is Roebuck Estates. It was founded in 2013 and has six vineyards in southern England. Like most wine producers in the UK, the company makes sparkling wine as the grapes require less time to ripen compared to still wine. Michael Kennedy, originally from Northern Ireland, is the CEO of Roebuck Estates. "In this area we've now got the same average temperatures that the Champagne region had in the 1970s or 80s. So that puts us in a sweet spot for ripening fruit and for making really good wine," he explains. Volatile weather England has experienced two heatwaves in recent weeks. Last month, the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London warned that climate change was contributing to these extreme weather conditions. It also reiterated that such events will become more frequent as the world gets warmer. Harsher winters are also a problem for wine producers in England. Mr Kennedy explains that frost, wind and rain can present problems. Wine producers in England therefore often spread out their vines by "about double what they would in a vineyard in Champagne" to improve airflow, Mr Kennedy explains. He also says that higher average temperatures during winter can be a problem "higher temperatures during the winter might mean that the buds burst earlier". Traditional wine making regions of Europe are also experiencing new challenges. Jake Wicks, head of viticulture at Roebuck Estates, has worked in vineyards around the world. "Sad to say but areas in southern France and Spain are really struggling with water availability. Vines require quite a lot of water and if that's not available to them they're unable to ripen the fruit," he explains. Climate adaptation The growth of Britain's wine industry is part of a wider climate adaptation effort, according to Alex Biss from the University of Reading. Research he conducted in 2023 found that the type of grapes Britain will grow in the future could change, meaning England may be producing still wines as well as sparkling. He also warns however, that the agricultural sector as a whole is having to ask questions around what type of crops can be grown in the future. "It's not just about viticulture. It's a much larger scale assessment of what crops will be grown here and what we can grow," he explains.
RTÉ News
01-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
England's wine industry growing due to warmer temperatures brought on by climate change
England's wine industry has seen significant growth in recent years due to warmer temperatures brought about by climate change. In South Downs National Park, where many English vineyards are located, there has been a 90% increase in the past decade. An average of five new vineyards are grown there every year. Overall, in Britain, there are approximately 4,000 hectares of land "under vine", with forecasts predicting it could almost double by 2032. Growing industry One company adapting to the changing temperatures is Roebuck Estates. It was founded in 2013 and has six vineyards in southern England. Like most wine producers in the UK, the company makes sparkling wine as the grapes require less time to ripen compared to still wine. Michael Kennedy, originally from Northern Ireland, is the CEO of Roebuck Estates. "In this area we've now got the same average temperatures that the Champagne region had in the 1970s or 80s. So that puts us in a sweet spot for ripening fruit and for making really good wine", he explains. Volatile weather England has experienced two heatwaves in recent weeks. Last month, the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London warned that climate change was contributing to these extreme weather conditions. It also reiterated that such events will become more frequent as the world gets warmer. Harsher winters are also a problem for wine producers in England. Mr Kennedy explains that frost, wind and rain can present problems. Wine producers in England therefore often spread out their vines by "about double what they would be in a vineyard in Champagne" to improve airflow, Mr Kennedy explains. He also says that higher average temperatures during winter can be a problem "higher temperatures during the winter might mean that the buds burst earlier". Traditional wine making regions of Europe are also experiencing new challenges. Jake Wicks, head of viticulture at Roebuck Estates, has worked in vineyards around the world. "Sad to say but areas in southern France and Spain are really struggling with water availability. Vines require quite a lot of water and if that's not available to them they're unable to ripen the fruit", he explains. Climate adaptation The growth of Britain's wine industry is part of a wider climate adaptation effort, according to Alex Biss from the University of Reading. Research he conducted in 2023 found that the type of grapes Britain will grow in the future could change, meaning England may be producing still wines as well as sparkling. He also warns however, that the agricultural sector as a whole is having to ask questions around what type of crops can be grown in the future. "It's not just about viticulture. It's a much larger scale assessment of what crops will be grown here and what we can grow", he explains.
The Journal
20-06-2025
- Climate
- The Journal
Heatwave hits Europe as temperatures set to reach over 42 degrees this weekend
WESTERN EUROPE IS currently grappling with an intense heatwave which may see temperatures surpass 42 degrees in parts this weekend. This heatwave continues to intensify across Europe - the UK and France will experience incredible June temperature anomalies of between 12–16°C above normal. Extreme, dangerous heat for vulnerable groups. As the planet warms, these deadly events are becoming more frequent.… — Peter Dynes (@PGDynes) June 17, 2025 The heatwave has impacted a number of countries in Europe, including Ireland, where temperatures, may soar to 29 degrees today . On Sunday, the Portuguese town of Mértola hit 40.5 degrees, the country's highest temperature this year, while several regions in Spain soared past 42 degrees. Similar temperature highs have been forecast for this weekend. Across Greece, minimum nighttime temperatures have hovered stubbornly above 30°C, a dangerous threshold that leaves little respite from the heat. The World Weather Attribution group warned that the current heatwave must be taken 'extremely seriously' , as the probability of seeing temperatures above 32°C in parts of Europe during June has increased 100-fold since the pre-industrial era. Europe experienced its warmest year on record in 2024 and excess temperatures are estimated to have killed tens of thousands of people in recent years. During the summer of 2022, more than 60,000 people across Europe died as a result of extreme heat. Even in the following summer, which was significantly cooler, over 47,000 heat-related deaths were recorded. Severe weather events, intensified by global warming and human-driven carbon emissions, caused €18.2 billion in damages, with flooding accounting for 85% of the total. The last ten years have been the warmest ten years on record. Forecasters say the extreme heat on the continent that has been seen in recent weeks is intensifying. Advertisement A strong ridge of high pressure over western Europe is pulling in hot, dry air from the south, with France, Italy, the Benelux countries, and western Germany bracing for highs in the mid to upper 30s in the coming days. Current temperatures across France. Meteociel Meteociel Paris is expected to reach 35 degrees today, while Rome could touch 38 degrees. Madrid may remain near or above 37 degrees every day next week. In the UK, temperatures may reach 34 degrees tomorrow. ⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️ Thunderstorms across parts of northern England and Wales Saturday 1500 – Sunday 0400 Latest info 👉 Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ — Met Office (@metoffice) June 20, 2025 The UK's Met Office has also issued a thunderstorm warning for parts of northern England, the Midlands and Wales from tomorrow afternoon into Sunday, as the heat and humidity is expected to fuel torrential downpours. The hot, dry conditions are fuelling a sharp increase in wildfires. In the UK alone, firefighters have responded to more than 500 wildfires this year, a 717% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council. Weather authorities across Europe, including Met Éireann, are urging the public to avoid lighting fires outdoors and to dispose of glass bottles carefully, as they can ignite dry vegetation. Unsure of what exactly is happening with the earth's climate? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online. Visit Knowledge Bank Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Time Magazine
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Time Magazine
Why ‘Hundred-Year' Weather Events Are Happening More Than Once Every 100 Years
Climate change is leading not only to droughts, wildfires, and extreme weather. It's also leading to oxymorons—at least when it comes to what are known as hundred-year storms, floods, and other events. Long-term weather forecasting—the kind that predicts conditions months or even years or decades in advance—is all about probabilities, factoring together not only current conditions and trends, but the historical record. An area that has seen floods in the past when the spring was unusually rainy or tropical storms were unusually fierce, is likely to see them again if the same conditions recur. Ditto the likelihood of severe storms when the atmosphere is holding a lot of moisture and the oceans are atypically warm. Environmental scientists have gotten so good at reading weather history that they can characterize some severe storms or floods as likely to occur in a given area only once in 100 years—or even 500 years or a thousand years. That's where the oxymoron comes in. As climate change leads to greater meteorological volatility, the one in 100—or 500 or 1,000—year events are occurring twice or three times or more in those windows. Since 1999, there have been nine storms along the North Carolina coast that qualify as hundred or thousand year events. From 2015 to 2019, one suburb of St. Louis experienced three major floods, two of which met the criteria for hundred-year events. One study by the Montreal-based carbon removal project Deep Sky calculates that the frequency of deadly hurricanes has jumped 300%, with 100-year storms now forecast to occur once every 25 years. Climate change is also redefining what qualifies as one of these rare and intense events. 'In April, an extreme rainfall event hit the Mississippi Valley, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee,' says climate scientist Andrew Pershing, chief program officer at Climate Central, an advocacy and communications group. 'Some of our colleagues at the World Weather Attribution group did a study and calculated that it was a 100-year event based on today's climate, but without climate change it would have been more like a 500-year event.' Making those kinds of calculations can take some doing—and a fair bit of data modeling—because climate unfolds over the course of millennia and modern weather and climate records barely go back a century. 'Scientists first look at 30 years of data, 50 years of data and figure out how frequently these events occur,' says Pershing. 'The challenge is that when you do that you're using data from the past when it was around two degrees cooler than it is now. When you start to do the calculations for today's climate, you find that events that you might expect to happen once every hundred years might happen once every 20 years.' The math here gets a little simpler. By definition, a hundred-year storm has a 1% likelihood of occurring in any one year; for a 500-year storm it's 0.2%; for a thousand years it's 0.1%. But every year the probability clock starts anew; if the 1% longshot comes in and a hundred-year storm occurs on the Carolina coast in 2025, that same area would typically have the same 1% chance in 2026—but climate change is making the likelihood even higher. 'It's not like you can calendar one of these events and say you're cool for another 100 years,' says Pershing. Driving the more frequent events is what Pershing describes as a 'thirstier' atmosphere, one that is hotter and thus capable of holding more moisture. 'We have a supercharged water cycle and that means that when you get a rain event it has a better chance of being a bigger event than it used to be,' says Pershing. Some of those bigger events could be coming soon—in the form of hurricanes. On May 22, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its projections for storm severity in the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. NOAA did not attempt to predict 100- or 500- or thousand-year events, but it does see trouble looming. The agency projects a 60% chance of an above-average hurricane season, a 30% chance of an average season, and just a 10% chance of below average. Across the six hurricane months, NOAA predicts 13 to 19 named storms—with winds of 39 mph or higher—up to 10 of which will likely develop into hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or more. Up to five of those could be major hurricanes—category 3, 4, or 5, with winds of 111 mph or more. And the impact could extend far beyond the coastal regions that are usually hardest hit. 'As we witnessed last year with significant inland flooding from hurricanes Helene [in September] and Debby [in August], the impacts of hurricanes can reach far beyond coastal communities,' said acting NOAA administrator Laura Grimm in a statement. Things could get dicey not only in the Atlantic, but in the Pacific as well. Already, tropical storm Alvin is forming off the southwest coast of Mexico, two weeks ahead of the start of the eastern Pacific hurricane season. In addition to hurricanes, floods, and storms, heat waves, droughts, and wildfires can be projected out over centuries. 'A hotter atmosphere can hold more water, but if you squeeze that moisture out over a mountain range like what happens in the west, then you end up with a much drier air mass,' says Pershing. 'The atmosphere then wants to suck the moisture out of the ground and so droughts get more severe.' There's no easy fix for a feverish atmosphere. In the short run, adaptation—dikes and levees to protect flood-prone cities, relocating residences away from eroding coasts—can help. In the longer run, shutting off the greenhouse emissions that created the problem in the first place is the best and most sustainable bet for limiting hundred-year storms to their hundred-year timelines. 'We have to quit fossil fuels as fast as we can,' says Pershing. 'This will give the climate a chance to stabilize and us a chance to adjust.'
Straits Times
30-05-2025
- Science
- Straits Times
Extreme heat waves are getting longer and hitting the tropics hardest: Study
Indonesia and Singapore have both recorded an additional 99 extreme heat days since May 2024. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO Four billion people experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme temperatures over the past year as a result of climate change, with nations in the tropics the most severely impacted, according to a study released on May 30. Indonesia and Singapore have both recorded an additional 99 extreme heat days since May 2024 when compared to a scenario that stripped out the impacts of global warming, researchers from London-based World Weather Attribution, US non-profit Climate Central, and the Red Cross Climate Centre found. Barbados, Haiti and a number of other Caribbean and Pacific island states and territories each had more than 120 extra hot days. Scientists defined extreme heat days as instances when daily temperatures were above 90 per cent of the historical average for a given location, aiming to gain better insight into conditions experienced locally rather than by making comparisons to worldwide averages. Last year (2024) was the hottest ever recorded, and the period studied in the report covered several severe heat waves, including in the southwest US last June, across southern Europe the following month, and through central Asia in March 2025. Periods of extreme heat disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, including older adults, low-income communities and pregnant people, the study said. There are frequently also negative effects on agricultural productivity, water availability and energy infrastructure. Of the 247 countries and territories analysed in the study, those with the highest number of additional extreme heat days were overwhelmingly in regions closest to the equator. 'Temperatures are less variable in the tropics than in the mid-latitudes, which means that the climate change trend is emerging more clearly in tropical regions,' said Dr Clair Barnes, a research associate at Imperial College London and member of the World Weather Attribution group. That means those regions will more likely experience extreme heat, she said. The World Weather Attribution group is an international scientific collaboration focused on finding out to what degree climate change is to blame for extreme weather events. Extreme heat has one of the strongest links to climate change. Small island states are among the most exposed to and least prepared for climate risks, and saw the starkest increase in extreme heat days during the period studied. That's because 'the oceans surrounding them tend to hold heat for a long time, keeping temperatures higher in what would previously have been cooler months,' Dr Barnes said. BLOOMBERG Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
