The heatwave as seen in my garden in Earley, Reading. Four days with the maxima not far below 35C (highest 34.8C) and three tropical nights between. Thankfully much cooler now.

We’ve provisionally recorded the UK’s highest daily minimum temperature for May on record 🌡️ Temperatures didn’t fall below 19.4°C at Kenley Airfield overnight, provisionally breaking the previous May record of 18.9°C set back in 1944

Heading into an unusually hot spell for late May. This is the Met Office app this morning for Earley, Reading.

Japan has coined a new word for 40°C heat: kokushobi, meaning “severely hot day”. As temperatures rise and records fall, even the language is changing. Naming the crisis is part of facing it. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04...

⚠️⚠️ Amber weather warning issued ⚠️⚠️ Strong winds across northern England, southern Scotland and northwest Wales Saturday 19:00 – Sunday 03:00 Latest info 👉 bit.ly/WxWarning Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️

Red sunrise at Reading Station. Saharan dust?

Nice cloud with ice falling out somewhere near Chippenham.

Revealed: how aviation emissions could be halved without cutting journeys

The current cold snap continues, before a deep area of low pressure threatens to bring further snow, strong winds and heavy rain to southern parts of the UK from Thursday night. Find out more👇 www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

Snowing and settling in Reading just now!

Tiny amount of snow in Reading this morning.

2025 was the warmest year on record for Central England in a dataset that starts in 1659. (Daily data available since 1772.) www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadce...

Looking for postdoc positions in the UK studying weather extremes? Two jobs with deadline 4th Jan: Historical windstorms, working with two insurance companies: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... Storylines of extreme events, as part of a European collaboration: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

In the coming days pressure will begin to rise to the N & E of the UK This will gradually cause Atlantic low pressure systems to slow down, weaken & start to retrogress in the vicinity of the UK This will allow the high to become more dominant, with a colder E wind developing

Exciting jobs & PhD studentship! 1) postdoc in historical windstorms: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... 2) postdoc in extreme event storylines: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... 3) PhD in redeveloping the Central England Temperature series (led by Tim Osborn): www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

#StormBram on its final approach to the UK this evening..

China doesn’t want to take lead on climate policies alone, senior adviser warns

A little bit of wet snow seen in Reading just now towards the back of the band of rain moving south.

Cold night in Reading although cloud rolled in before dawn but with enough gaps to give a great red sky around sunrise.

After an exceptionally mild week across many areas, we are going to get a taste of winter as cold Arctic air plunges down from the north So it's probably time to get the big coat out 🥶

Colder Arctic air on the way for the week ahead..🌡📉

Interested in revealing how moisture-driven surface cyclones can develop into hazardous windstorms, now and in the future? You could do it at @unirdg-met.bsky.social @ncas-uk.bsky.social, working with @benharvey.bsky.social, @jriboldi.bsky.social, Sue gray and me! jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Storm Amy has been record breaking ⚠️ An air pressure of 947.9 hPa was recorded at Baltasound, Shetland, provisionally setting a new UK lowest pressure record for October. Northern Ireland provisionally recorded its strongest October wind gust on record, with a gust of 92 mph at Magilligan.

#StormAmy ’s magnificent swirl as seen from @eumetsat.int’s Meteosat-12 satellite 🛰️

EarthCARE is a inexhaustible source of beautiful imagery of some of the most spectacular phenomena nature has to offer, so I've started a Gallery page on the EarthCARE Science web site, showing for example convective motions in the trainbands of Typhoon Ragasa... www.earthcarescience.net/gallery

#OnThisDay 200 years ago witnessed the birth of modern railways through the opening procession of the Stockton & Darlington Railway from Shildon to Darlington. Watched by thousands, Locomotion No.1 hauled hundreds of passengers aboard wagons and coach 'Experiment'.

Missed the total phase of the lunar eclipse because the moon was too close to the horizon. Did get to see the shadow receding across it though.

Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests

An ominous looking swathe of cloud gathering to our southwest associated with a low pressure system Wind and rain incoming tonight/tomorrow

Last night in Reading at around 17:30 UTC saw one of the brightest and most complete rainbows I’ve seen for a while (the photo doesn’t do it justice).

New analysis from @metoffice.gov.uk showing that the record-breaking hot UK summer of 2025 has been made much more likely by human-induced climate change and such a hot summer would be expected about once every 5 years in current climate. www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

Nice fall streaks seen from Reading earlier today. The front produced a small amount of rain (less than 0.1mm) but we did have one loud clap of thunder.

Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes

First heavy rain in Reading for a long time!

Rainbows in the sky just now.

Calls to clean up England’s ‘toxic air’ as GP visits for asthma attacks rise 45%

Did anybody order a sea breeze for tomorrow? Incoming....

Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report

Scuddy clouds earlier today seen behind the @ecmwf.int crane from @unirdg-met.bsky.social

Up early this morning and happened to catch the sun still looking very red from the Canadian smoke.

I hear UK IsItHotRightNow is now live 🎉 istheukhotrightnow.com. Congrats, it looks awesome! So isithotrightnow.com has now expanded to UK, Spain and Germany, each adding their own fantastic new features. We'll have to try to keep up :)

Is the UK hot right now? YES - it's warm! See the data live, hour-by-hour: istheukhotrightnow.com Click on each site to show all the details.

Lenticular clouds behind the crane on the @ecmwf.int building site seen from @unirdg-met.bsky.social at about 07:30 UTC this morning.

splitting_supercell.mp4

Great view of storm to the north from Henley.

Chance of rain, some thundery Sunday through next Tuesday..

Soil moisture just below the lawn in my garden for April with rainfall. Drying during the dry weather at the start of the month slowed by slight rain mid month. The rainfall event on the 23rd caused a spike but then fell off much more rapidly presumably because the soil below was still very dry.

Quite lumpy clouds in Reading earlier (although definitely in the category of looking better in the photo than to the eye).

Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China

In 2024, Paris banned cars from its city center to make room for cyclists and pedestrians with remarkable pollution reduction as a result. Earlier this year, Parisians voted to create even more car-free zones in the city. Visual: The Washington Post