Deadly winter kills 20,000 more British than usual — if only CO2 caused more warming

The world has record high CO2 levels, which supposedly warms us in winter but apparently not as well as cheap electricity does. As the long winter is set to drag on, Brits are being advised to heat one room as well as they can and live there. This is “progress”…

48,000 Brits dead after worst winter in 42 years

After a brief mild spell, temperatures are set to dip again in April after the chilliest March in 21 years.

It is estimated that 20,275 Brits more than average died between December 1 and March

That includes nearly 5,000 Brits under the age of 65 whose lives may have been cut short.

According to the Office of National Statistics, one in 10 cold weather deaths are among under-65s, one in 10 among 65-75s and eight in 10 among over-75s.

The Department of Health also said cold conditions worsen winter killers including flu, chest diseases, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

It doesn’t matter where you live — more people die in winter than summer all over the world. It’s not outdoor temperatures that matter — it’s the indoor climate that kills.

Save the world, burn fossil fuels. Make CO2 and cheap electricity.  We need more of both…

Cold weather kills 20 times more than heat does.

h/t ClimateDepot

REFERENCE

Antonio Gasparrini et al.  (2015) Mortality risk attributable to high and low ambient temperature: a multicountry observational study. The Lancet, May 2015 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62114-0Full PDF.

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67 comments to Deadly winter kills 20,000 more British than usual — if only CO2 caused more warming

  • #
    el gordo

    Tentatively, its a mini bipolar seesaw.

    ‘Sydney has set record warmth for April as much of south-eastern Australia basks in conditions typical of mid-summer, with parts of the city reaching “severe” fire danger.

    ‘The mercury in Sydney had reached 35.4 degrees just before 2.30 pm, exceeding the April record notched just two years ago of 34.2 degrees by more than a degree.’

    50

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Adelaide got 36℃ today.

      40

      • #
        el gordo

        After a miserable winter they call 19C a ‘heatwave’.

        ‘Britain is finally enjoying summer weather as temperatures have passed 19C (66F), making the country hotter than Barcelona.’

        70

      • #
        Graeme No.3

        Sorry,
        heralded by Channel 9 as “record heat” at 36.3℃ because it was in the West Parklands where they had the same temperature in ??
        Sorry missed the date, possibly 1939, so surely proof of Global Warming©.

        100

        • #
          Ian Hill

          On April 9th 2005 it was 36.9C at Kent Town (and also 36.9C on April 2nd 2005). Both those days were Saturdays and normally they would have cancelled the primary school cricket, but it went ahead on the 2nd because it was not forecast to be anywhere near that hot.

          The West Terrace site recorded 35.8C on April 5th 1938 but of course wasn’t operating in 2005.

          30

    • #

      Sydney had its hottest May daily max in 1919, and its hottest June day in 1931. You’d think with all the UHI to the west side of the bridge no such record would be left standing.

      Up where I live the hottest April day was 32 years ago.The highest daily max for September and October were both achieved 53 years ago, but that’s only because records for daily max cut off before 1965. Our hottest April by monthly max was in 1914.

      As I’ve said before, it matters not a bit if there is global warming because the globe can only do two things. We should just remember that the Eemian didn’t last long and that the Holocene too shall pass. We’re in a flaming ice age and every hundred and twenty thousand years or so we catch a break. Just enjoy. Interglacials are very, very short, and we haven’t tried doing this whole civilisation gig outside our Holocene quickie.

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    • #
      PeterPetrum

      According to the BoM records today,Sydney got to 35.4 while Penrith, 40k inland, got to only 35.8. I can only assume that the traffic exhaust heat from the Cahill Expressway and Bradfield Highway must have influenced the thermometer the Sydney Observatory Stevensons Screen!

      141

    • #
      Orang Putih

      And yet Perth had the mildest summer in living memory. Absolutely beautiful.

      50

  • #
    John F. Hultquist

    Don’t know the specifics of this but do know that the UK and much of Europe are destroying wealth, or transferring wealth from less well-off to those that already have plenty.
    Sad.

    181

    • #
      sophocles

      Dr George Miller detailed how it is done in his book On Fairness and Efficiency. It covers from Duke William of Normandy’s direct method to the present day. It’s a very thorough investigation.
      I found it difficult to read but that was my anger, not the book.

      80

    • #
      Mardler

      Totally untrue re the U.K.
      The less well off have been getting better off for decades, at least when there isn’t a Labour government.
      There might be a “wealth gap” but that is different.

      00

  • #
    Yonniestone

    left wing economics = increased poverty = increased energy poverty = increased deaths amongst the most vulnerable, Malthusian ideals much?

    Next time some lefty mouths off about how much better off people would be if wealth was forcibly spread and lived with less ask if they heat their house during winter.

    Then tell them they have to randomly select one in ten young and elderly people in their neighbourhood for execution because Green Marxism which they support dictates so.

    180

  • #

    Now then,serfs, altogether…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UvesKl8_W8
    Summer time and the living is easy.
    Winter? Brrrrrrr, helas poor Robin.

    100

  • #
    el gordo

    The North Atlantic Oscillation illustrates the death toll.

    http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/pna/nao_index.html

    The NAO is influenced by the sun, but to what degree I cannot say.

    20

  • #
    King Geo

    Lucky I left the UK back in the 1950’s when less than a month old.

    Us very lucky “10 Pound Poms” who settled in Oz – I have a lot to thank my parents for.

    110

  • #
    Dave Ward

    The Department of Health also said cold conditions worsen winter killers including flu, chest diseases, heart attacks, strokes and dementia

    The way I feel at the moment (looking out the window at yet another gloomy day), they might think about adding depression to that list…

    120

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Claire Perry, the new Minister of State for Energy in the UK has celebrated the tenth anniversery of the lunatic Climate Act in the UK while the news is of an extra 20,000 deaths during the freezing weather and more likely to follow. I take it that she would be upset if referred to as the Minister for Mass Murder.

      110

  • #
    robert rosicka

    Lucky for us in victoriastan we have fantastic weather. no need for aircon just nice and warm .
    When i was younger it used to be called an Indian summer but now its called climate change.

    200

  • #
    TinyCO2

    Hmmm, I’m not sure that this story (the original Daily Star, not your take) is as dramatic as the headlines suggest. While this was a tougher winter than we’ve been used to since the noughties, it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t as bad as the 2010 winter for cold. Overall deaths were about the same as last year and the 13/14 excess. These figures are small in comparison with excess winter deaths that were common in the past when we used to see much more severe influenza epidemics. The flu vaccine wasn’t well matched to the two main strains that circulated but even then we didn’t see the rate of cases that the US and Australia saw. The cold very much does increase deaths here but mostly because we’re not used to it. The greatest winter death excess rates are in the mildest EU countries. I sometimes wonder if the other countries get an autumn spike. We also have had a big influx from countries even warmer, so the people are more vulnerable, especially if they end up on the street. Just the numbers that have arrived add to births and deaths.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697417/PHE_influenza_surveillance_graphs_2017_2018_week_14_2018.pdf

    https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/excesswintermortalityinenglandandwales/2016to2017provisionaland2015to2016final

    Between those two links it’s possible to show that this year wasn’t that unusual prior to vaccination for flu. There were other contributing factors – over crowded NHS, under funding in various areas, high energy bills and gentle summers (ie people have to die at some point), we’ve even had a higher than normal murder rate.

    So yes, the cold kills but this year wasn’t that odd.

    61

  • #
    Mark M

    Turns out emitting a trace gas (CO2) is a truly lousy way of causing permanent drought and killing pinot noir vines planted 18 years ago at the beginning of the millennial drought …
    … and kangaroos with penchant for cool climate wines …

    Kangaroos with penchant for cool climate wines cost Canberra grower more than $80,000

    “Ms Gordon and her husband, the Nobel prize-winning astronomer and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, Professor Brian Schmidt planted their pinot noir vines 18 years ago at the beginning of the millennial drought.”

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-31/kangaroos-with-taste-for-wine-cost-canberra-vineyard-thousands/9603746?smid=ABCRural-Twitter_Organic&WT.tsrc=Twitter_Organic&sf185920080=1

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  • #
    Sceptical Sam

    Do walking dead count?

    There’s 76 of them in one house in Canberra and further 150 in another.

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  • #
    Ruairi

    It’s the indoor climate that kills,
    Causing thousands more deaths from chills,
    The cruel result,
    Of the CO2 cult,
    Forcing higher electrical bills.

    220

  • #
    Greg in NZ

    While Australiastan enjoys the warm side of a Tasman Sea high pressure, here in the Shaky Isles we’re copping a southerly roaring all the way up from Antarctica (-70˚C today). The snow began falling at sunset and, according to The Models™, will continue all week – until Friday the 13th!

    http://www.metservice.com/mountain/southern-lakes

    Freezing temperatures and snow to 300 metres with warnings of half-metre accumulations on inland passes: how come that evil pollution molecule thingy that, allegedly, makes life ‘hot’ doesn’t work over here anymore? Thankfully that nice NIWA Chief Scientist for Climate / Hazards, Dr Sam Dean, was on the radio preaching (oops, explaining) why – why it’s only going to get hotter & worser unless we stop catastrophic fossil fuel or something. Hopefully the icy southerly wind chilled him down a bit on his bicycle ride home as he was getting a little hot under the collar in the studio:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2018639792/hot-hot-summer

    These scientists don’t realise how religious they sound when they regurgitate their gospel… or maybe they do.

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    • #
      sophocles

      Freezing temperatures and snow to 300 metres with warnings of half-metre accumulations on inland passes: how come that evil pollution molecule thingy that, allegedly, makes life ‘hot’ doesn’t work over here anymore?

      It never has. De Freitas, Dedekind and Brill [2014] showed 1860 to be warmer than the “Warmest Years Evah!” this century.

      The “global” warming we hear (ad infinitum) about is really Northern Hemisphere warming.

      Nuffink to do wiv us down under, and it’s all Antarctica’s fault.

      Enjoy the read.

      40

  • #
    Kinky Keith

    As Mosomo says above, we are in an interglacial and we should enjoy it while we can.

    Orbital mechanics almost certainly means a continuation of the pattern of 100,000 year cycles with a descent into an 80,000 year ice age, followed by a rapid 10,000 year pulse of heat which melts accumulated icefields and a final 10,000 year or so of pleasant interglacial.

    Why hasn’t Brian Cox and his fellow astronomers monitored the current cycle to see if the pattern of the last half a million years is going to continue?

    This is no joke when you consider that the area of New York and up to the North pole was covered with a massive ice field and New York being under 1500 metres of ice.

    Breathe as hard as you like, no amount of CO2 will stop this.

    KK

    90

    • #
      sophocles

      Yup. Orbital Mechanix. Much more powerful.

      And it’s not just orbital mechanics of our planet about its parent star, but the orbit of the whole solar system about the galactic centre.
      (I wonder if Dr. Cox realises that the Solar System also orbits the centre of the galaxy?)

      Ice Ages come … and Ice Ages go. The Earth is in an ice age at present. It’s in the Holocene Interstadial of the Quaternary Ice Age, which started about 2.5 – 3 Million years ago. Our Solar System entered the Gould Belt ring of stars in the Orion Spur (spiral arm). It’s an area of strong Cosmic Rays, hence the chill. We’ve got about another 30Million Years or so, maybe, before the Solar System exits the Orion Spur.

      You might find Shaviv’s Paper about Ice Ages the causes of their occurrence, frequency etc. It’s rather interesting.
      (the above link is to Shaviv’s blog article. The published paper (also very interesting) is here. [pdf]

      We’re effectively measuring the thermal noise and arguing over whether or not identified trends therein are at all significant, where something rather bigger than even our Solar System is actually in control.

      (Shaviv also looked into the effect of the Solar System’s nutation as it zips around the galaxy, but I’ll leave that up to you to find if you’re interested …)

      Dr. Cox manages to give the impression that he may be more interested in his public, as in TV, image than any real science.

      Enjoy.

      50

    • #
      el gordo

      If you look back to the end off the last interglacial there was a gradual slide into cooler drier conditions, with 400 years of desertification signalling the end of the Holocene.

      Plenty of time to dream up geo engineering experiments, like reopening the great American Seaway, but in the meantime ……

      ‘When scientists looked at Antarctic snowfall over the past 200 years they found a “significant” increase, up to 10%.

      ‘In the decade 2001-2010, some 272 billion tons more snow fell on Antarctica per year compared with the decade 1801-1810.

      Eric Worrall (wuwt)

      20

      • #
        Kinky Keith

        Last paragraph seems to suggest that the current interglacial is ending?

        20

        • #
          el gordo

          Cannot say for sure if the end is nigh, increasing mass balance in Antarctica may indicate something but I don’t know what. Will Holocene’s end be the same as the Eemian?

          Keep in mind that the science is unsettled on the Younger Dryas, but if it was an asteroid impact then it definitely put a damper on this interglacial. One thing is certain, human induced CO2 should prevent desertification. This is geo engineering on a grand scale.

          10

          • #

            those observations are completely in line with the science

            “The year-to-year and decadal variability of the snowfall is so large that it makes it nearly impossible to distinguish trends that might be related to climate change from even a 50-year record,” said Andrew Monaghan, a research associate with Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center and lead author of an article on the topic published in the Aug. 10 edition of the journal Science.

            In other words if you had chosen other pairs of years like 1750-60 (had it been measured) 1820-30 1920-30 1990-2000 and drawn a two point graph between the data like KK just did you can make up any old sh**. Like KK just did.

            20

            • #
              el gordo

              Yeah but 1801-10 was the Dalton Minimum, presumably colder and drier in Antarctica but I’ll have to check the ice cores, whereas 2001-10 maybe wetter and capable of increasing mass balance.

              10

              • #

                Yeah but

                which is, in essence, the point I was making.

                20

              • #
                el gordo

                Did a bit of reading and it seems the Antarctic Peninsular has been cooling since 1998 after at least a half century of warming, volcanoes must be quiet.

                So we have two decades of cooling at a particular spot on the Peninsula, should we ignore that? Is it a global cooling signal?

                30

    • #

      Not to worry KK; Trump seems to be well on the way to #MAGAMake America Glacial Again

      🙂

      30

    • #

      While the current interglacial may be a bit less radical than the previous one – more plateau and less peak, as far as can be determined – the descent from the Eemian was very sharp. When you consider the effects of tiny cooling blips in recent centuries, you have to wonder why most of climate science is not concerned principally with short-term change from volcanism and long-term change from reversion to normal Quat conditions. If the 1970s are anything to go by, the tiniest blips are also worth investigating. Doesn’t take much cooling to dry up big slabs of Africa, now heavily populated, unlike previous eras.

      Pretending to know when these important changes will come into effect will just create a new climatariat, albeit a bit less silly than the present gaseous one. It’s time for observation and curiosity, values sadly abandoned for dogma and activism of late. Silly is okay while the weather is okay. Won’t help when the Laki hits the tropopause.

      40

  • #
    pat

    ABC and BoM in a hot-fest:

    9 Apr: ABC: Sydney has its hottest April day on record and the endless summer looks set to continue
    By Jean Kennedy
    The Bureau of Meteorology said the temperature climbed to 35.4 degrees Celsius at its Observatory Hill site in the city on Monday.
    That eclipsed the previous record of 34.2C, which was recorded on April 6 in 2016.
    Meteorologist Craig Ryan said it was the hottest day since records were first collected at that site in 1858.
    “It’s close to a degree higher than the previous record so in that sense it’s quite significant,” he said.
    “But it’s hard to gauge whether it’s something that will be eclipsed any time soon, so time will tell as to how significant today is.”

    The weather bureau said other parts of the city in the west and around the airport also notched up records.
    Horsley Park reached 35.9C, which broke the April record of 35.8C on April 6 in 2016.
    Sydney Airport hit 36.8C, which broke the previous April 2016 record.
    Holsworthy recorded 35.8C, breaking the April record of 33.6C on April 3 in 2005.
    Canterbury hit 35.4C, almost a degree higher than the previous 2016 record and Terry Hills was exactly a degree higher than the last hottest day recorded in April 2016.

    Sydney also saw its longest running hot spell for April with nine consecutive days of temperatures reaching 25C or above, including on Monday, breaking the previous record of seven days straight.
    Regional NSW also felt the sun’s sting
    But the records were not entirely confined to Sydney, with Albion Park in the Illawarra also notching up 34.5C, breaking the April record of 34C in 2005…
    Dubbo in the central west reached 30C for the first eight days of April, surpassing the previous record of six consecutive days above 30C for April.
    There are also six more days forecast of temperatures of 30C or more for Dubbo.

    It was the same in Cobar and Walgett in the far west, with eight days of temperatures over 32C, setting records there.
    Meteorologist Craig Ryan said it has been very dry too, but what was most significant was the number of days of elevated temperatures across parts of the state.
    “Even after this cooler push has come through, we’re still expecting temperatures into the high 20s and early 30s later in the week,” he said.
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-09/sydney-records-hottest-april-day-ever/9634696

    20

  • #
    pat

    ABC/BoM – are these temps significant?

    8 Apr: WoodTV: Michigan’s coldest temperature ever in April
    By Bill Steffen
    The temperature at Stambaugh in the U.P. dropped to a bone-chilling 24 below zero this (Sun.) AM. If that hold up, it will be the coldest temperature EVER recorded in Michigan during the month of April. That reading broke the old Michigan April record by a whopping 7 degrees!…

    Record cold temperatures were also set in Lower Michigan where there was snow on the ground. Big Rapids dipped to +1, Cadillac bottomed out at -3 and Baldwin dropped all the way down to -7. Other morning low temps: Leota (Clare Co.) -4°, Houghton Lake and Manistee +3°, Mecosta +5°, Muskegon 14°, Battle Creek 15°, Grand Rapids 16°. The record low temp. for Sunday in G.R. was +7° in 1982. That followed a +3° the day before and those are the two coldest mornings ever in G.R. in April…

    Above is the webcam from the Observatory in Fremont, looking south shortly before sunset. Despite full sun, we still couldn’t melt the snow today as afternoon temperatures held in the 30s, nearly 20° colder than average.
    http://www.woodtv.com/weather/bill-s-blog/michigans-coldest-temperature-ever-in-april/1107785076

    5 Apr: CBS Minnesota: Record Low Temps Recorded Overnight; Friday Could Be Coldest April 6 In 145 Years
    By Matt Brickman
    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After finishing up our biggest April snowstorm in 34 years, record low temperatures have been recorded overnight in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
    Meanwhile, Friday is looking to be the coldest April 6 in 145 years of weather records…

    “This is very unusual. We’ve been keeping records since the 1870s, 140 years, and we haven’t seen temperatures quite this cold in the first week of April,” Brickman said…
    “I don’t know how you can spin this one,” Brickman said. “It is going to be somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees below average and windy.”…
    http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/04/05/coldest-april-6-in-145-years-possible/

    9 Apr: WeatherChannel: Brian Donegan: Pattern Change to Bring a Taste of Spring Warmth After One of the Coldest First Weeks of April on Record in the Midwest
    The latest 6- to 10-day temperature outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center indicates a likelihood of below-average temperatures returning to the Midwest and northern Plains during the period from next weekend into next week.
    That could also be accompanied by a major snowstorm from the northern Plains to the northern Great Lakes late-week and into the weekend…

    Across much of the Midwest and northern Plains, the first seven days of April ranked among the top-five coldest such periods on record, according to data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center…
    April 1 to 7 was the coldest first week of April on record in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, where the average temperature during that period was just 22.9 degrees.
    In Madison, Wisconsin, April’s first week ranked as the fourth-coldest while it was the seventh-coldest in Milwaukee.
    South Bend, Indiana, experienced its third-coldest April 1-to-7 period, with an average temperature only 1 degree away from the record-coldest first week of April.

    Kansas City tied their record coldest first seven days of April with the infamously cold year of 1899, a stretch the National Weather Service noted would be average for mid-February, not early April.

    It wasn’t just the Midwest shivering. Tulsa, Oklahoma, smashed their previous record coldest April 1-7 period by almost 2 degrees, and picked up only their fourth measurable April snowfall on record.
    https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2018-04-08-pattern-change-taste-of-spring-cold-april-midwest-east

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      pat:

      Those being ℉ I add some equivalents.
      ℉ = ℃
      -24….-31
      +1…..-17
      -3…. -19.4
      -7…. -21.7
      +3….-16.1
      +15…-9.4

      20

  • #
    pat

    comment in moderation re multiple cold temp records.

    9 Apr: HeraldScotland: Spring set to be coldest in 39 years
    by Alistair Grant and Fiona McKay
    SCOTLAND is on course for the coldest spring for 39 years – with more snow expected in the coming days and sub-zero temperatures threatening to extend until June.
    The Met Office’s three-month April to June forecast said there would be colder-than-normal spells during the first half of the period.

    This rare “polar plunge” phenomenon was caused by “Sudden Stratospheric Warming” which has disturbed the jet stream.
    It makes air above the North Pole incredibly warm, pushing bitter conditions southwards…
    Forecasters said this also means that cold spells could be ongoing for a further two more months.

    The Met Office April-June forecast said: “The Sudden Stratospheric Warming event in February very likely gave a strong impetus to recent cold spells and its influence is expected to continue in the early part of the outlook period.
    “This implies increased chances of weather patterns bringing colder-than-average conditions.”
    This March, average temperatures were 1.7C colder than usual, according to Met Office records.

    Average temperatures across March to May in Scotland are set to be 1.5C below normal, under 2013’s 4.8C, and would make this spring the coldest since 1979.

    Snow is forecast in coming days on mountains, with cold periods and frost expected throughout a mixed April…
    Scotland’s ski resorts said that favourable conditions meant the season would extend into the summer, which begins June 1.
    All five resorts — CairnGorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain, Glenshee, The Lecht and Nevis Range — are still open with good snow cover.
    Experts inthesnow.com said: “Scotland’s ski season continues to be one of the best in years.”
    Meanwhile, Scotland’s transport chiefs ordered an extra 100,000 tonnes of road salt to prevent running out last month, it has emerged.

    Figures from the Scottish Government-backed Salt Group Situation Report, which covers salt held by Transport Scotland, councils and in reserve, show a record 720,535 tonnes of salt were spread this winter, beating 2012-13’s 691,000 tonnes…
    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16145533.Spring_set_to_be_coldest_in_39_years/

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      pat:

      How did you comment get a red thumb?

      Re the claim
      This rare “polar plunge” phenomenon was caused by “Sudden Stratospheric Warming” which has disturbed the jet stream.
      It makes air above the North Pole incredibly warm, pushing bitter conditions southwards…
      Forecasters said this also means that cold spells could be ongoing for a further two more months.

      This is supposedly “proof” of man-made climate change, but their is an alternative explanation.

      http://notrickszone.com/#sthash.lcvwM28G.dpbs

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  • #
    pat

    9 Apr: ABC17: Cold temperatures delaying seeding in Mid-Missouri
    A soybean farmer worries his crops will be behind
    By Kelsey Kernstine
    ABC 17 spoke with a locally farmer today, Jim Sontag, who has been farming all his life and said it’s the coldest and longest winter he has seen.
    He is worried he will not be able to plant his soybeans in two weeks because the weather is too cold.
    “The ground weather is too cold, it won’t sprout,” said Sontag.
    Sontag told us the corn planters are in bigger trouble though, they are supposed to plant in mid-April, but it will not happen because the weather is too cold. There will be no germination.
    Sontag farms 80 acres in Boone County and said that the delay can be very hard on farmers financially because it can effect the overall outcome of their crops…

    9 Apr: RadioNewZealand: Food shortage for New Zealand’s godwits
    by Charlie Dreaver
    Food sources for the bar-tailed godwit on its annual journey to Alaska have been depleted, but researchers have devised a plan to keep them fed.
    After leaving New Zealand in March, thousands of godwits have made it to China’s Yalu Jiang National Nature reserve.
    However, after experiencing the coldest winter in almost half a century, clams at the mudflat have been dying off…

    6 Mar: Aljazeera: La Nina triggers extreme weather in Japan and Australia
    Frigid cold and widespread flooding blamed on the natural phenomenon.
    SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
    Western Japan has just struggled through its coldest winter in 32 years.
    The average temperature was more than 2C below usual and the conditions at times were extreme.
    On February 6, more than 1,000 vehicles were stranded by heavy snow in the Fukui Prefecture in western Honshu. Those stuck had to be dug out by the military.
    After a meeting on Monday, Japan’s Meteorological Agency declared that La Nina was to blame for the abnormal weather.
    La Nina is also likely to have triggered the current flooding in Queensland, Australia…

    6 Apr: WeatherNetwork: Canadians remain in winter’s icy grip (with snow) until May
    Dr. Doug Gillham and Michael Carter, Meteorologists
    April has arrived, but the first few days of the month have brought temperatures much more typical of winter than spring as arctic air has dominated Canada…
    A blocking pattern over the Arctic has sent the coldest air on the planet relative to normal spilling across North America, centered on the Canadian Prairies. Areas in purple on this map have averaged 10 to 20 oC colder than normal to start the month. The reach of the cold has been widespread, with almost all of Canada experiencing below normal temperatures to start the month…

    Once again temperatures in places such as Calgary and Regina will be 15 to 20 degrees colder than normal…
    However, during Wednesday and Thursday the next round of arctic air will already by surging south across the Prairies and into northern Ontario. While it will not be nearly as cold as what we have seen this week, temperatures will once again be close to 10 degrees colder than normal…

    Regardless of how the pattern develops for late next week and weekend, it is increasingly evident that colder than seasonal temperatures will dominate much of central and eastern Canada during the third week of April and it looks like we will really struggle to have any persistent warmth during April…
    https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/canada-april-long-range-pattern-arctic-air-lack-of-persistent-warmth-more-snow/98765

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    • #
      RAH

      We’re having the same issues here in the states. Farmers in the corn belt should be in their fields prepping them for planting by now but the colder and wetter than normal spring weather has prevented that. If things don’t start to turn around quickly yields are going to be negatively effected. Right now at my place in N. Central Indiana we got 1″ of snow over night and large flakes are still coming down as I write this.

      These issues here and elsewhere sure are going to make it tough for the PRC to target US agriculture in their trade war as they are trying to do now. The fact is China needs to import beans and grains far more than the US needs to sell them to them. Brazils record soya bean harvest projected for this year can’t fulfill all of China’s needs.

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  • #
    Mardler

    Fake news.

    TinyCO2 was on the money.

    To elaborate:-

    1. This story was from the Daily “London bus on the moon” Star, not exactly a reliable source.

    2. The numbers in the article are total fabrication and at best are guesstimates.

    3. The UK ONS will not publish figures for this winter until November.

    Joe Bastardi carried this carp: I suggested that he remove it – and I suggest that you do, too, Jo.

    PS: deaths always higher in countries with cold winters and sure, the UK is probably a tad worse than others not least because of our lousy health care system. No excuse for posting rubbish, though.

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    pat

    6 Apr: Edmonton Journal: Edmonton weather: It’s April and I can’t feel my face
    by Trevor Robb
    A look at today’s Edmonton weather by Environment Canada.
    Friday morning temperatures at the Edmonton Blatchford station measure -17.3 C with a 6 km/h wind contributing to a -22 wind chill…
    Tonight: Partly cloudy. Becoming clear this evening. Wind southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light this evening. Low -19 C with a wind chill of -25…
    Tomorrow: Increasing cloudiness. 30 per cent chance of flurries in the afternoon. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the morning. High -6 C. Wind chill -26…

    On This Day (1996-2017)
    Highest temperature: 18.1 C (1996)
    Lowest temperature: -13.3 C (1997)
    http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-weather-its-april-and-i-cant-feel-my-face

    9 Apr: Stuff New Zealand: Snow down to 300 metres, heavy rain, tornados, cold southerly gales
    by MICHAEL DALY
    An early winter southerly storm is expected to affect the whole country in the first half of the week, with possible damaging tornados, snow to 300 metres, thunderstorms, severe gales with gusts to 140kmh, big waves and plummeting temperatures.
    MetService issued road snowfall warnings for the alpine passes in the South Island, the motorway north of Dunedin out to Waitati, and the Desert Road in the North Island. Rain is expected to turn to snow overnight Monday in the South Island, with the snow expected to be heavy on some of the roads.

    “A period of snow is expected from Monday night into Tuesday about higher inland parts of the South Island with heavy falls likely,” MetService said. The heaviest snow was likely about Canterbury and Kaikōura, and pockets of snow could get as low as 300m in the south and central South Island…
    MetService said snow could get down to 400m in the Kaikōura Ranges overnight Monday, with a possibility more than 40cm could accumulate above 600m.
    In Canterbury, there was a possibility of 15-25cm accumulating above 500m, and more than 40cm likely above 700m. Snow could also be heavy in Otago, Southland and Fiordland, from Monday night, again possibly as low as 300m…
    Heavy snow could continue to fall in the South Island on Wednesday, and significant snow is also considered likely on high ground in the North Island on Wednesday…

    Christchurch was expected to get southerlies and southeasterlies during Monday, with a daytime high of just 13C and an overnight low of 4C. The temperature wasn’t predicted to top 13C during the week…
    CHILLY ALL OVER
    Wellington could have some southerlies or southeasterlies during Monday, but the coldest southerlies, possibly rising to gale strength, weren’t expected until Tuesday. Then the afternoon high was expected to hover around just 7C.
    Even Auckland was forecast to feel the effects of the storm, with southerlies on Wednesday keeping the high down to 14C…
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102927915/snow-down-to-300-metres-heavy-rain-and-cold-southerly-gales

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    • #
      sophocles

      Pat posted:

      An early winter southerly storm

      Auckland is having Weather at the moment. That “early storm” is centered on Auckland … right now—when “now” is 10:00am NZST. It’s 21°C at present and tonight’s low is predicted to be around 9°C. That’s a winter temperature for Auckland, and it’s only the middle of Autumn.

      The TC which was heading our way, is tracking off to the north east, so far. That’s no reason to be complacent. With the pressure so low over Auckland at present, it could still visit (… that would be #4 this year …)
      More electrical activity arriving, I hear, third band over the last eight hours …

      Right folks, the “Indian Summer” this year has been cancelled! sigh. Winter duvets at the ready already …

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    robert rosicka

    Not sure we’re going to be getting into the thirties today ,in fact if it doesn’t warm up I might need the heater .

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    robert rosicka

    OT but ABC news breakfast was just interviewing someone from the CSIRO who have co written a climate alarm manual with BOM and by the look of it Flimflam himself , now the amazing thing about this book is not all the alarmist garbage in it .
    It’s actually the title of the book ” Sunburnt country” and the irony here is it’s a play on that great poem by Dorothy Macellar ( apologies if I have the name wrong) that was written nearly a hundred years ago and describes the climate then exactly as it is now .

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    Greg in NZ

    Pat, you’re konfuzink weather with ze klimate®, so says the Settled Science Super Komputa Korporation of Kooksville. It’s all that ‘run away warming’ causing this freezing cold blast – it’s never happened before… EVAH! Except exactly 50 years ago to the day –

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/programmes/news-extras/story/2018639368/survivors-of-the-wahine-disaster-tell-their-story-50-years-on

    “On 9 April 1968, the Meteorological Service issued a warning at 8:30pm. The Cook Strait was going to experience strong southerly winds, rain and poor visibility. A tropical cyclone was also making its way down the country.”

    Funny that: today we’ve got strong southerly winds, ie. very cold and snowy, yet the closest tropical cyclone is way up north by Fiji. Therefore, my hypothesis is, the extra miniscule amount of atmospheric trace gas NZ produces, about 0.000002%, is forcing cyclones to stay well away from us down here at 45˚S. Now, if I could only get my hands on some of that endless fossil fuel funding cash I keep reading about…

    😉

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    • #
      sophocles

      Now, if I could only get my hands on some of that endless fossil fuel funding cash I keep reading about…

      Join the queue 🙂
      It’s out there …
      Somewhere …
      Legend has it.

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    • #
      sophocles

      my hypothesis is, the extra miniscule amount of atmospheric trace gas NZ produces, about 0.000002%,

      Y’know, it could be all the methane the cows produce … 🙂

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    Amber

    Can’t wait for the first … “when did Britain know ” class action lawsuit on behalf of the
    45,000 people who suffered fuel poverty deaths as a result of government promotion of false science and an overblown scam .
    No wonder they try to shut up places like the BBC for providing a balanced perspective … occasionally . Must keep up the front .

    More people die from fuel poverty in the UK in a year than lost their lives at Dunkirk .
    Now we know where the phrase stiff upper lip came from .
    Quit killing your own citizens UK . Scary global warming shouldn’t be a population control measure .

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    • #
      Mardler

      Where to start?!
      There is no “fuel poverty”. It’s a leftist lie predicated on the very few cases of genuine overall poverty and it’s wrong. Your Dunkirk comment is asinine.
      We won’t know how many died this winter until November when the figures are published. The article is pure guesswork.
      The BBC has never been balanced, it is hugely leftist biased and bought the CAGW scam hook, line and sinker. There are few programs that do not mention man made climate change whether relevant or not.
      It is true that the, Labour introduced Conservative supported, Climate Change Act has had many deleterious impacts including an increase in average annual fuel costs reckoned to be c.£130+.
      We are not killing our citizens here! Every country that has cold winters experiences a spike in deaths during that season. It has always happened and always will. The causes are many as quoted above: had you read the comments you would understand.

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    […] 20,000 Dead. Interesting story out of Jo Nova on Monday, noting that 48,000 Brits died after the worst winter in years.  This is 20,075 more than average during the months of Dec – March.  British citizens were told to heat one room as well as they can and live in that room until it warms up.  This is progress in the former British Empire.  Of those 20,075 dead were nearly 5,000 under the age of 65.  Under the age of 75, one in 10 deaths are due to cold weather.  Over 75, that number spikes to eight out of 10.  This is what happens when you try to keep the light on and homes heated with moonbeams, pixie dust, and unicorn flatulence.  Not only do more people die in the winter than in the summer, but cold kills 20 times more than heat does.  http://joannenova.com.au/2018/04/deadly-winter-kills-20000-more-british-than-usual-if-only-co2-cause… […]

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