The COVID-19 pandemic is “a warning from the planet that much worse lies in store unless we change our ways”, a leading UN environment figure has said, ahead of the publication of the biggest climate report in almost a decade.
“While the climate crisis, together with biodiversity loss and pollution, has indeed been under way for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this triple planetary crisis into sharp focus,” Joyce Msuya, assistant secretary general of the United Nations and deputy executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said today.
“The pandemic is a warning from the planet that much worse lies in store unless we change our ways.”
Ms Msuya was speaking to mark the finalisation of the most comprehensive assessment of global warming of its kind since 2013.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Working Group I has compiled its latest update on the science behind climate change, assessing the impacts of global warming and warning of future threats.
Its researchers will now spend the next two weeks talking representatives of 195 governments through their findings, before the report is published on 9 August.
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The need for such a wide-reaching study has been thrown into sharp focus by a spate of climate change-linked environmental disasters suffered the world over, from flooding in Europe to famine in Madagascar. Siberia burned while swathes of the US and Brazil suffered record heat and drought.
It will set the scene for the all-important COP26, crucial climate negotiations taking place just three months later in Glasgow. The aim of the talks is to get governments to agree on how to limit emissions and limit global warming ideally to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Ms Msuya added: “After years of promises but not enough action, it is a warning that we must get on top of this crisis that threatens our collective future.
“As I speak it is clear that extreme weather is the new normal. From Germany to China to Canada or the United States, wildfires, floods, extreme heatwaves. It is an ever-growing tragic list.
“And as countries invest unprecedented amounts of resources into kickstarting the global economy, as we all call for this recovery to be green, we need the IPCC more than ever.”
Hot topics in the report could be humanity’s impact on the climate, feedback loops and the impacts of climate change already happening, the role of forests and oceans as carbon sinks or potential carbon sources.
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How to prepare for extreme weather
What is the IPCC?
For more than three decades the UN’s climate science body, the IPCC, has provided politicians with assessments on the global climate, publishing a series of reports every seven years, as well as special interim reports.
IPCC reports have historically underpinned global climate action and influenced decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Its 2013 assessment that humans had been the “dominant cause” of global warming since the 1950s set the stage for the landmark climate accord known as the Paris Agreement in 2015.
In 2018, the IPCC released a special report on keeping global temperature rise under 1.5C, which changed public discourse on climate.
The global atmosphere is already 1.2C warmer than the preindustrial average.
A further two reports in this assessment cycle are on track to be published next year.
Working Group II, slated for February, will calculate the vulnerability of humans and nature to the climate crisis and subsequent adaption. Working Group III, to follow in March, will assess ways of keeping to global temperature targets, including options on renewable energy or carbon capture and storage.
Sky News has launched the first daily prime time news show dedicated to climate change.
The Daily Climate Show is broadcast at 6.30pm and 9.30pm Monday to Friday on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, on YouTube and Twitter.
Hosted by Anna Jones, it follows Sky News correspondents as they investigate how global warming is changing our landscape and how we all live our lives.
The show also highlights solutions to the crisis and how small changes can make a big difference.
Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.
Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenterposted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.
She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
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Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.
“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”
She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”
In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”
When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.
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She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.
Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”
McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.
With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.
“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”
Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.
In central Scotland, wind speeds of 50-60mph are likely, and gusts up to 70mph could be felt near the coast and on exposed bridges.
Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said that while the risk of snowfall had now diminished, rainfall would “affect much of the UK”.
Frequent showers are expected in Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and the West Country, with the heaviest expected in southwestern parts of England and South Wales.
Mr Page said weather warnings “could still be amended” and possibly at short notice, and urged people to “keep up to date with the very latest forecast”.
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Sky News meteorologist Christopher England warns there could be a risk of hail and thunder in northern Scotland, at the start of the week.
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Storm Bert causes flooding in Wales
As of Monday morning, there were hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place. Three of those – two in Wales and one in England – were “severe warnings”.
A further 160 flood warnings and more than 200 flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency in England, and eight flood warnings and 23 flood alerts in place in Wales at the time of writing.
Bert to clear UK by Tuesday
By Tuesday, Storm Bert will finally clear the UK, the Met Office said, bringing with it “quieter weather for many”.
However, parts of the country may not be without rain or wind for long, as the forecaster says strong gusts and rainfall could start again on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
“How long the more settled conditions last is uncertain, with rain probably returning to westernmost areas at least by the end of the week,” the Met Office website says.
Chris England adds: “Wednesday will bring strong winds and a spell of heavy rain across the south, while the north looks mostly fine after a frosty and foggy start in places.
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0:25
Woman loses umbrella to Storm Bert
“Thursday looks cool again, but mostly fine. Friday will be milder, with outbreaks of rain likely over Ireland, Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland.”
He says going into the weekend, Saturday “looks cloudy and breezy in the north and west, with a little rain possible at times”.
When could the next named storm be?
Storm Bert was the second named storm of the season after Storm Ashley brought similar wet and windy conditions towards the end of October.
Although it cannot be known for sure when the next storm will be, the Met Office already knows it will be referred to as Storm Conall. The forecaster names storms in alphabetical order.
It says it only names a storm when it has the “potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning” and according to its long range forecast, this could be as soon as next month.
It says that between 9 and 23 December, “there are signs” there will be wetter and windier interludes with a risk of snow, adding: “These conditions look more likely to dominate towards the middle of December.”
Whether this will be strong enough for a storm to be named remains unknown.
Microsoft has said it is “investigating an issue” after users reported problems with Outlook and Teams.
In a post on X, Microsoft365 Status said: “We’re investigating an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar.”
Microsoft Exchange Online is a platform for business communication that has a mail server and cloud apps for email, contacts, and calendars.
Down Detector, a website that tracks outages, said problems started at approximately 8am on Monday morning.
It said 87% of reported problems involved Outlook, when the email application is accessed through the web.
Other reported problems, according to Down Detector, included connection to the server and logging in.
Users from the UK and around, Europe took to social media to report they were having problems accessing the platform.
One user wrote: “When you need to check an important mail, but #outlook decides to not work…”
While another added: “Here in Belgium mainly issues with tracking of e-mail in Dynamics 365. Inbound and outbound in Outlook still work.”
Microsoft directed affected users to its admin centre, a page that is intended for those who have access to business networks and other professionals who manage IT networks. The page requires a login.