Meteorological Society May Newsletter

Topics: Classroom Materials, Environment / Climate

Sources: RMetS - Royal Meteorological Society

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Meteorological Society May Newsletter

Royal Meteorological Society
May Newsletter

April showers bring May flowers, and while rainfall was close to average last month, some places were wetter than others. Most parts of Scotland were actually drier than average, but southern and eastern England were rather wet, with parts of Kent receiving twice their normal rainfall. And Northern Ireland had its wettest April since 2009.

Overall, April was a cool month with chilly nights, and this trend continued into May (not so good for the May flowers!). But now our attentions turn to summer, with the media speculating about heatwaves and whether temperatures records will be broken again.

Despite receiving average rainfall in April, there are hosepipe bans in place in Devon and Cornwall, with reservoir levels lower than they were this time last year. That doesn’t bode well for this summer, especially with El Niño likely to develop, which usually leads to higher global temperatures.

There are fears that the El Niño weather pattern combined with global warming could lead to new global temperature records. Just this week, a report produced by the Met Office for the World Meteorological Organization, revealed there is a 98% chance that one of the next five years will be the warmest year on record for the globe.

There is also a two-in-three chance that global average temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the threshold set by the Paris Agreement.

We may wish for warmer weather in this country, but be careful what you wish for.

Kirsty McCabe, FRMetS

Stunning satellite images

The first image from the new generation of European weather satellites reveals incredible detail, even at higher latitudes over Europe, from cloud streets over the Greek Islands to von Kármán vortices downstream of the Canary Islands. Gemma Plumb takes a closer look at what this means for forecasters.

Rare clouds

Some of the rarest clouds are also the most beautiful, as you can see in these previous entries to our annual weather photography competition. The Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition showcases the world’s most striking weather and climate photographs.

State of our climate 2022

Climate change is happening at an unprecedented rate. Released in time for Earth Day 2023, two important reports detailed the significant climate events of 2022 in Europe and across the globe, and it’s not good news.

Children and climate

An adult and a child reading books in a library.

Climate change can make some children feel anxious, so MetMatters and The Week Junior have put together a short video to help you talk to your child, as well as some ways to support and reassure them.

FREE online Careers Day

Sign with the word Career pointing to information on the virtual careers day event

Are you considering a career in weather, climate or climate change? Maybe you’re choosing which A level subjects to take, or starting to look at undergraduate courses, or maybe you’re already an undergraduate and wondering what to do next.

In this free online careers day organised by the Royal Meteorological Society, we’ll be asking people from UK Universities, the Met Office and other employers of meteorologists to tell you a bit about their current work and how they got there, and we’ll explore the best routes into meteorology.

In the course of the event, you’ll hear short talks from a broad range of presenters and have an opportunity to ask them questions.

NOW OPEN: Weather Photographer of the Year

Tornado in Iran taken by Hadi Dehghanpour

The Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2023 is now open, and celebrates the beauty and power of weather around the world, as well as raise climate awareness and bring into focus the climate emergency our planet faces.

The competition is open to photographers of all ages and abilities, including professionals and amateurs, and is completely free to enter, so for your chance to win some fantastic prizes, click here for more details.

You can see some of the previous award-winning entries in this video.