Climate Thoughts with Brian

Tag: climate-change

Almost 3,000 excess deaths estimated in England and Wales during recent heatwaves

Public protecting themselves against the direct sun A new combined report from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine estimated that more than 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in the recent May and June heatwaves. The report states that almost half of these (42%) died as…
Read more: Almost 3,000 excess deaths estimated in England and Wales during recent heatwaves
Ripon Repair Café: One Year On and Still Going Strong.

Repair culture proving popular against rising consumerism Ripon Repair Café opened its doors once again this Saturday (11th July) to mark the first anniversary of beginning their repair journey in 2025. Sue Griffin, an organiser for the local repair team said, ‘In the first year of the repair café, we have saved a lot of…
Read more: Ripon Repair Café: One Year On and Still Going Strong.
European heat records are broken by spring heat dome

Credit @Tomer Burg The UK has just set a provisional new May heat record with 35.0C recorded in West London, exceeding the 34.8C reached yesterday. France has also seen record breaking heat with 36C recorded in the country’s southwest on Monday as a heat dome sits across much of western Europe. Friederike Otto, Professor of Climate Science,…
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Thousands of people across the country protest against sewage pollution

Pictures of Scarborough Surfers Against Sewage Protest credit @torysmasher In over 50 locations across the country, people gathered today to express their outrage at the ongoing sewage pollution of waterways, rivers and the coastline around the UK. Organised by Surfers Against Sewage, these ‘Paddle Out Protests’ aim to protest against the sewage pollution by the…
Read more: Thousands of people across the country protest against sewage pollution
Review of ‘Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home’ by Katharine K Wilkinson

Wilkinson’s book crackles with purpose and the potential of what might be possible. It reminds us that there is a ‘we’ at the heart of this journey and that we are bound and bonded by a common framework of humanity. ‘Climate Wayfinding’ is a book which encourages- even demands- time for reflection; time for strengthening…
Read more: Review of ‘Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home’ by Katharine K Wilkinson
Europe is warming more than twice as fast as the global average

European State of the Climate report provides comprehensive overview of climate indicators Findings released today from European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlight key changes in climate indicators for the world’s fastest warming continent. A range of factors are addressed in the report ranging from cold environments,…
Read more: Europe is warming more than twice as fast as the global average
Review of ‘The Visual Life of Climate Change’ by Saffron O’Neill

‘The Visual Life of Climate Change’ is an enthralling exploration and evaluation of the efficacy of climate related images and challenges the reader to be more critical of the ideologies and narratives posed by any image. O’Neill makes the early point that, ‘Images are not simply facile illustrations accompanying the ‘serious’ work of textual communication,…
Read more: Review of ‘The Visual Life of Climate Change’ by Saffron O’Neill
Halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 critical to avoid disastrous effects on human well-being

Immediate call for global action to shift world towards a “Nature Positive” approach is published today in Frontiers in Science. Harvey Locke @2026 ‘Human activities are driving a global decline in biodiversity and are interfering with the natural processes essential for human well-being. Achieving climate and development goals is impossible without keeping nature intact.’ This…
Read more: Halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 critical to avoid disastrous effects on human well-being
National Emergency Climate viewings help to inform the public more about climate breakdown

Swinsty Reservoir in 2025 Following last year’s successful National Emergency Briefing on the climate to MPs, more action is still required from the Government to ensure that the public is informed, prepared and protected about the climate and nature breakdown. To ensure that this happens, multiple venues across the UK will host public viewings of…
Read more: National Emergency Climate viewings help to inform the public more about climate breakdown
Pollution pours into England’s rivers more than 290,000 times in 2025

‘An unacceptable amount of sewage’ still going into our waterways, despite an unusually dry 2025 Annual data released today by the Environment Agency indicated an appalling- though not surprising- picture of England’s waterways. Nationally, there were 291,492 sewage spills in 2025, with these spills lasting for over 1.8 million hours. This national data reflects a…
Read more: Pollution pours into England’s rivers more than 290,000 times in 2025