Reading Roars!

As I write, the streets of Reading are bathed in glorious afternoon sunshine.  Very pleasant and very much what we expect (hope) to see at this time of year.

Visitors have been streaming in today as a result of the flood notice I posted yesterday.  I was wrong about my traffic forecast: today vehicles flowed smoothly (have the school summer holidays begun already?) and I saw only very mild flooding around the river at Thames Valley Park, glinting in the sun, suggesting that the predicted deluge was moving very slowly indeed.

Here is the latest warning issued by Reading Borough Council:

The Environment Agency have put the River Thames at Reading on Flood Warning (along with almost all of the surrounding areas including Sonning, Twyford, Caversham, Wargrave, Charvil etc). The Environment Agency has now advised that the waters at Reading are expected to rise early on Wednesday morning 25 July, but to a lesser degree than previously predicted. However, residents and businesses are advised to keep their flood precautions in place until the Environment Agency issue the all clear.

There is now less risk of disruption to travel.

* For February 2009 flood information, please visit the Environment Agency website. *

You probably know this already, but because of the wet weather we have been experiencing recently the Thames river level in Reading is expected to rise in the early hours of Tuesday morning.  The following flood warning has been issued by Reading Borough Council:

The Environment Agency have put the River Thames at Reading on Flood Warning (along with almost all of the surrounding areas including Sonning, Twyford, Caversham, Wargrave, Charvil etc). The Environment Agency has revised it’s warning and advise that the waters at Reading are expected to rise at approx 2pm on July 24. Residents and Businesses in affected areas are strongly advised to take all possible precautions against flooding now. It is expected that there will be disruption to travel over the next few days so plan your journey carefully and avoid all unnecessary travel in the area.

The last sentence makes me nervous.  Travel within Reading is already a headache (this afternoon the commute home from Thames Valley Park, not a zillion miles away, took far longer than usual).  Tomorrow it could be severe.  I guess I will be walking, then.

Today the major talking point was, of course, snow. Snow, snow, snow. Reading saw its biggest snowfall since, well, the last big one, and predictably it caused a problem or two, forcing schools to close (why?) and workers to stay at home (hmm). I found the journey into work rather pleasant this morning, as the roads were free of traffic. I was wondering what Canadian and Russian residents here were making of all this.

Anyway, the snow was beautiful and I had to take photos – as many as I could – to preserve for future years when climate change robs us of this gift from nature. The best pictures were those I took at work, of snow-people sculpted by creative staff members (one snow figure had, appropriately enough, coins for eyes). As if work wasn’t engaging enough. Tsk.

• Broad Street blizzard
• Snowy Oracle Riverside
• Snowman, Microsoft Campus
• Snowman 2.0, Microsoft Campus
• Micro Snowman
  

Sadly, as I type, much of the snow is disappearing already, turning Reading into a giant slush puppy.

Two University of Reading scientists were present at a Paris meeting to help put together the latest report on climate change.  The report, by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was published on 2 February 2007, and the Reading scientists made particular contributions in the following areas:

• how much greenhouse gases are warming the climate
• how ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels
• how El Niño and monsoons could change

On the subject of climate activity, snow showers are due to hit Reading tomorrow (I guess that, these days, snow can be considered unseasonal, given the mild winters of recent years).  Expect transport difficulties.  Or stay at home!

Reading residents this morning woke up to a winter wonderland. An overnight flurry left the town buried under a thin crust of snow, most of it sadly gone by midday.

On my way home from work, I snapped a giant snowball (the kind you see in cartoons, rolling down a mountain) nestling next to a bin. An impressive effort – but on a school and work day, who found the time to produce it?

Scientists from the University of Reading’s Walker Institute say that the temperature of continents could grow 40-80% faster than oceans by 2050.

Dr Rowan Sutton, lead author of the climate science study, said:

The fact that warming over land is more rapid than over sea is clearly important for climate impacts, since people live on land. Excessively high temperatures can cause a range of problems such as disruptions to train services due to rails buckling in the heat. In very hot weather people’s health can also suffer

With climate models showing that London (and Reading) summer temperatures could reach 40+ celsius by the middle of this century, imagine the temperature extremes in cities such as Madrid and Dubai, where 40 is currently the norm!

Forget terrorism (or the perceived threat of it), climate change is real, it is happening now, and we should be concerned about its impact.

I’ve often said that Reading has extraordinary sunsets. I don’t know why this is. Maybe the local Met Office can give me an answer?

I took the dramatic picture seen here with my humble cameraphone. The sky with red cloud looked like a blood-splattered surgical gown. The silhouetted tower is, of course, the local town sesli chat kuryehall (but does it not look like the Charles Bridge tower in Prague?).

Find a nice spot with a loved one, perhaps by the river, or the Walkabout terrace and, during those minutes of crimson glory, Reading is an undeniably romantic place.