How about this weather, eh?

We Brits love talking about the weather, though we are far from alone in that. In America, the Middle East, even South-east Asia, it is likewise a perennial topic of conversation. But boy, have we ever had something to talk about lately. In November, 352 mm of rain fell in Cumbria, or 14 1/2 inches, the greatest precipitation in Britain since accurate records began in 1889. Last night is believed to have been the warmest night ever recorded in December- and there, records go right back to 1659. Our central heating is primed to go on when the temperature drops below 17 degrees- and it did not come on this morning at 7.15 am.

What will January hold for us? The highest temperature ever recorded in January is 18.6 degrees, improbably somewhere in Scotland. It seems impossible to imagine that record going, but on the basis of what we have just experienced it could happen. 1988 was an exceptional year. In January it was so warm one day we sat out in the warming sun on my birthday (the 11th) while July was so cold, barely 10 degrees on St Swithen's day, the 15th, I clicked on the central heating- the only time in my thirty-one years in this house that has ever been necessary. That summer cold-snap was down to a Mexican volcano, apparently, but why is this "hot-snap" happening? The weather charts show consistent strong southerly airflow, itself unusual in the winter months, though not unprecedented. But those same weather maps show the warm air advancing all the way into the Arctic circle- and what that implies for that region must be a significant cause for concern- for polar bears if not climate change deniers- they've gone a bit quiet now, haven't they?