Grumpy old men - So what's pissed you off today?

[Doc Holliday]

We had stories summer of '22 about the UK hitting 40 degrees, it’s been referenced several times the last few days and that we should be expecting this to be the new normal.  Reality is that the Uk didn’t hit 40 degrees before, that reading was taken halfway down a runway a minute after a jet took off, the actual peak temperature that day was 38.5, fucking hot but not a record.

Do you have a source for that?

The temperatures are recorded at official Met Office sites around the country. They all meet strict and standardised criteria with regard to locations. The record temperature of 40.3 degrees was recorded at the Conigsby Met Office Station in Linconshire in July 2022

"Within these official weather stations, thermometers are housed in a white slatted box with its door facing north, called a Stevenson screen. This keeps the thermometer away from direct sunlight but the airflow constant and ensures consistency of readings across the UK. 

The locations and mounting heights of these boxes are also standardised, positioned over level grass and away from concrete or hard-standing wherever possible, minimising the influence of man-made surfaces within the surrounding area."

External Link/Members Only

[Blackpool Rock]

Do you have a source for that?

The temperatures are recorded at official Met Office sites around the country. They all meet strict and standardised criteria with regard to locations. The record temperature of 40.3 degrees was recorded at the Conigsby Met Office Station in Linconshire in July 2022

"Within these official weather stations, thermometers are housed in a white slatted box with its door facing north, called a Stevenson screen. This keeps the thermometer away from direct sunlight but the airflow constant and ensures consistency of readings across the UK. 

The locations and mounting heights of these boxes are also standardised, positioned over level grass and away from concrete or hard-standing wherever possible, minimising the influence of man-made surfaces within the surrounding area."

External Link/Members Only

I have previously heard reference to the temperature at testing stations in either Heathrow or Gatwick however i'm guessing they aren't official Met office stations but you'd expect an airport to have them, it doesn't stop the media using the info though if it help bump the numbers up and sensationalise the story and for me and others this is our issue.

Just had a look online and in 2026 the Met office have around 350 testing stations of which around 250 are modern ones which record the temperature every minute, the other approx 100 are the old manual type
Back in 76 there were less testing stations only around 200 and most of them needed manual measurement

Obviously if you almost double the number of testing stations you also increase the chance of recording a new "Record", may or may not have been the case back in 76 that it was in fact hotter at one of these new locations but it just wasn't measured 

[bigden40]

'76 was fucking hot though. Old enough to remember that, and the drought that went with it.

[bigden40]

Do you have a source for that?

The temperatures are recorded at official Met Office sites around the country. They all meet strict and standardised criteria with regard to locations. The record temperature of 40.3 degrees was recorded at the Conigsby Met Office Station in Linconshire in July 2022

"Within these official weather stations, thermometers are housed in a white slatted box with its door facing north, called a Stevenson screen. This keeps the thermometer away from direct sunlight but the airflow constant and ensures consistency of readings across the UK. 

The locations and mounting heights of these boxes are also standardised, positioned over level grass and away from concrete or hard-standing wherever possible, minimising the influence of man-made surfaces within the surrounding area."

External Link/Members Only

The Conigsby site is at RAF Conigsby and the temperature was impacted by Typhoon Jets taking off.

External Link/Members Only

[Blackpool Rock]

1st news story is the temperature record being beaten (For June) at 36.1 degrees however I note the all time record was 40.3 degrees on July 19th 2022, so some 4.2 degrees cooler today than the all time record which is quite a bit of difference however it's still reported as being a record as it sensationalises the story 

Only a matter of time until they start quoting records not just for months but for specific days of the month and then when that's not providing enough click bait hottest on a specific date at a specific testing station 

Oh and today's record (For June  ) was followed up with a comment about how the "Feels like" temperature was even hotter. FFS 
I'm guessing the "feels like" is a hot version of wind chill in the winter 

[Davey Dykes]

50 years difference.

Hidden Image/Members Only

[Blackpool Rock]

50 years difference.

Hidden Image/Members Only

Yep 

[PilotMan]

Yep, this pisses me off. How on earth I've managed to survive for more than half a century without all this advice and come to no harm is a mystery. The BBC seem to have turned themselves into some kind of health advisory service.

I've had three roofers working in the direct sun all day. I've had two ground workers digging foundations using an excavator and dumper truck, in the direct sun. I've had two loads of concrete delivered and poured, in the direct sun.

Nobody died, or even fainted.

Incredible 

Anyone would think that there's nowhere in the world that has these temperatures that can actually work.

[Doc Holliday]

The Conigsby site is at RAF Conigsby and the temperature was impacted by Typhoon Jets taking off.

External Link/Members Only

I knew you would have a source.  Interesting thanks 

[Doc Holliday]

'76 was fucking hot though. Old enough to remember that, and the drought that went with it.

It was the length of time it went on for, in particular the drought. Scorched grass everywhere.

I remember it well as it was the year of my final exams at Uni. 

Do you remember the ladybirds?

[PilotMan]

'76 was fucking hot though. Old enough to remember that, and the drought that went with it.

I don't think we had the headline grabbing record temperatures in 76, but it went on for ages.

I was at Barking Lido almost every day through that summer. I also had to complete my Duke of Edinburgh awards, we did a two day hike in the blazing sun.

[bigden40]

It was the length of time it went on for, in particular the drought. Scorched grass everywhere.

I remember it well as it was the year of my final exams at Uni. 

Do you remember the ladybirds?

I do, wasn’t as bad in Scotland as the south east but we still had loads of them. 

I was still at Primary School in '76

[PilotMan]

I do, wasn’t as bad in Scotland as the south east but we still had loads of them. 

I was still at Primary School in '76

So you're not 40, or born in 1940 

[bigden40]

So you're not 40, or born in 1940 

Not any more. Sadly.

[Blackpool Rock]

It was the length of time it went on for, in particular the drought. Scorched grass everywhere.

I remember it well as it was the year of my final exams at Uni. 

Do you remember the ladybirds?

Bearing in mind I can't take the heat and while it was hot I don't remember it feeling stupidly hot 

As I recall it possibly wasn't too humid and it did often go cooler overnight so you got some respite from the heat, I do remember getting up to go to school and it actually feeling a bit chilly early on until the sun really got going

I also remember my Dad kept going on about the Azores High that was influencing our weather, apparently if you get high pressure over the Azores it often results in the UK getting a spell of good weather and this particular high pressure system was only small but just stayed put for ages.

The weather forecasters would come on and say there was a low pressure system coming in to challenge it and my dad who was always prone to being negative would start his doom and gloom "Well that's it now, there's no way it'll stay good" but somehow it kept batting the big lows away 

Didn't even know what Air conditioning was back then, remember as a kid having a day out at the beach and then having to get into a car that had been shut up and sitting all day in the blazing sun.
Black plastic / vinyl seats and sitting on them with bare sunburnt legs  We just got on with it, these days kids would be taking their parents to court for child abuse 

[scutty brown]

It was the length of time it went on for, in particular the drought. Scorched grass everywhere.

I remember it well as it was the year of my final exams at Uni. 

Do you remember the ladybirds?

The problem was we had two years of it 1975 and 1976
Where I lived at the time the water board was going around reopening local village springs and reservoirs which had been abandoned and left derelict for 20-30 years - the modern centralised "big" reservoirs were near dry.

And the ladybirds - we were sitting on the beach at Weymouth and the things flew in from France in massive clouds like a plague of locusts. Millions of them, attacking and biting anything that smelt of meat. People and dogs getting attacked in mass. The people who got it worst were those wearing yellow clothes or sitting under yellow sunshades, that seemed to be a major attractant

[scutty brown]

So you're not 40, or born in 1940 

Shush....it's his waistine 

[B4bcock]

It was the length of time it went on for, in particular the drought. Scorched grass everywhere.

I remember it well as it was the year of my final exams at Uni. 

Do you remember the ladybirds?

I remember the ladybirds - bloody everywhere!  I may be wrong, but I would say the '76 heatwave felt much drier and not humid like this current one, so you didn't feel as sapped of energy (or is it because I was a young buck of a teenager then as opposed to an old codger now?)   

[WASA38]

So I am something of a contrarian on climate. The Earth is going through a warming phase, not denying that, but I think there is over attribution of this warming to man made factors when there are many other factors at play. Also, the warming is not necessarily even a bad thing, the planet has been warmer in the past without humanity ending, CO2 is making the planet greener and more fertile, and more people die due to cold than heat. 

All that said, my beef with the media today is that they are being alarmist and branding a week or two of nice weather as abnormal and making ridiculous predictions about the future (regularly having temperatures over 45 degrees in UK) based on poor quality models and dodgy data.  We get lurid stories about record temperatures using measurements from Class 5 locations e.g. halfway down a runway or next to the greenhouses at Kew, when the reality is we’re a couple of degrees cooler.

We had stories summer of '22 about the UK hitting 40 degrees, it’s been referenced several times the last few days and that we should be expecting this to be the new normal.  Reality is that the Uk didn’t hit 40 degrees before, that reading was taken halfway down a runway a minute after a jet took off, the actual peak temperature that day was 38.5, fucking hot but not a record.

And as for all the shrill, don’t travel, don’t go to work nonsense - keep hydrated and wear a hat and enjoy the fucking weather, it’ll be gone soon enough.

Have you a reference for that assertion ? According to ChatGBT:

'The record-breaking UK temperature of 40.3°C on 19 July 2022 was officially measured using an automated Platinum Resistance Thermometer (PRT) housed inside a standardised Stevenson screen at the Met Office weather station in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.To ensure the measurement was a true reflection of the climate rather than localized interference, the Met Office utilized a highly controlled, standardized methodology'.

Also, the scientific evidence for anthromorphic global warming is overwhelming.

That said, yes, I too am sick of the prominence being given to the hot weather by all the news media - not just the BBC. I'm knocking on 88 and it doesn't bother me.i

Whoops. Posted this before having read Doc  H's similar response and your reply. Accordng to chat GBT again:

'The Daily Sceptic is widely regarded by mainstream scientists, fact-checkers, and media watchdogs as an unreliable source that frequently publishes misleading or inaccurate information'.

[Punterperson1971]

I remember the ladybirds - bloody everywhere!  I may be wrong, but I would say the '76 heatwave felt much drier and not humid like this current one, so you didn't feel as sapped of energy (or is it because I was a young buck of a teenager then as opposed to an old codger now?)   

I also remember being on holiday with my parents and seeing loads & loads of flying ants,you hardly see them now

[bigden40]

'The Daily Sceptic is widely regarded by mainstream scientists, fact-checkers, and media watchdogs as an unreliable source that frequently publishes misleading or inaccurate information'.

Notwithstanding the ad hominem, they would say that wouldn’t they as they are the very people being critiqued by the site.  And “mainstream” scientists, fact-checkers, and media watchdogs don’t exactly have the best track record these days.  The former because they’re overly politicised and the others because they’re just political.

One can determine which articles look like they have some rigour, are referenced, etc and those which are not.

[stampjones]

Notwithstanding the ad hominem, they would say that wouldn’t they as they are the very people being critiqued by the site.  And “mainstream” scientists, fact-checkers, and media watchdogs don’t exactly have the best track record these days.  The former because they’re overly politicised and the others because they’re just political.

One can determine which articles look like they have some rigour, are referenced, etc and those which are not.

Ah I think we've solved the mystery of the 40! It's your IQ, right?

[Blackpool Rock]

Ah I think we've solved the mystery of the 40! It's your IQ, right?

[Doc Holliday]

Notwithstanding the ad hominem, they would say that wouldn’t they as they are the very people being critiqued by the site.  And “mainstream” scientists, fact-checkers, and media watchdogs don’t exactly have the best track record these days.  The former because they’re overly politicised and the others because they’re just political.

One can determine which articles look like they have some rigour, are referenced, etc and those which are not.

Ok cards on the table.  When I asked for your source I already knew what you would link to. To my knowledge it is the only one? I just wanted confirmation.

I said it was interesting because I was disappointed that you would favour a source with such a grossly biased agenda in terms of global warming. It is clear that you share that viewpoint from the content of your post so was no point in discussing further.

Here is the Met Office evaluation. External Link/Members Only

I am not saying that organisation does not have an agenda either, but it contains an awful lot more detailed scientific analysis than Toby Young's and I find that more compelling than his media outlet.

I was also disappointed that made an exaggerated claim that the temperature was measured 'half way down a runway'. It was not.

Here is an example of what was appearing on Social Media. External Link/Members Only

Note the photo showing the proximity of what is claimed to be the runway ... but it is not.

The image is taken from the Met Office evaluation I linked to above. Below is the full image and shows the real location of the runway.

Hidden Image/Members Only

[bigden40]

I don’t disagree that Toby Young's site has an agenda.  Doesn't mean they’re always wrong, and they’re definitely right to be sceptical about a lot of things.

I don’t think anyone would think the “halfway down the runway” phrase meant literally on the runway itself.  From the met office pictures it looks to be about halfway down the runway to me, close to the parallel taxiway, maybe 200m from the runway itself. 

It’s a class 3 station giving it an uncertainty of about 1 degree in measurements. 

The FOI request cited in the article seems to indicate a spike in temperature coinciding with three jets landing with lower readings taken immediately prior and after that event and the 40 degree headline making temperature not being repeated.

[RandomGuy99]

The youth of today.

Why is it that when they make mistakes or don't look before they do something and then you point it out to them that they just argue back?

In my day we listened to our elders and apologised if we'd done something wrong.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

FWIW here in Cambridge we have a weather station, proper stevenson screen type, at thw botanic gardens in the south part of Cambridge. But the BBC weather site lists local readings as taken at
Marshalls airfield dont know where the instruments are prolly not all up that 100 foot control tower.

Not that many aircraft movements these days, a few Cessnas on joyrides and the like..

[bigden40]

The youth of today.

Why is it that when they make mistakes or don't look before they do something and then you point it out to them that they just argue back?

In my day we listened to our elders and apologised if we'd done something wrong.

Did you really?

[Charliehutton]

Wood pigeons. They piss me off every day, waking me up with their gormless, annoying cooing. I'd happily shoot every one of the stupid, ugly fat fuckers. And yes, I know they can find their way around the world without sat-nav, but it doesn't stop them shitting into my bird bath.

[Doc Holliday]

FWIW here in Cambridge we have a weather station, proper stevenson screen type, at thw botanic gardens in the south part of Cambridge. But the BBC weather site lists local readings as taken at
Marshalls airfield dont know where the instruments are prolly not all up that 100 foot control tower.

Not that many aircraft movements these days, a few Cessnas on joyrides and the like..

There are many weather stations located at airfields/airports. This is because they can fulfil a dual role. Firstly to provide accurate and current weather information which is crucial to aviation at that site (be it wind speed/direction, air temperature, rain etc) and secondly to record and use that data on a wider scale.

[Doc Holliday]

Wood pigeons.

You should live on the coast and have to put up with seagull excrement which is spectacular when your vehicle is bombed. Then there is the stealing of your chips and ice cream  .

Oh and the noise early morning in Summer!

[Blackpool Rock]

Wood pigeons. They piss me off every day, waking me up with their gormless, annoying cooing. I'd happily shoot every one of the stupid, ugly fat fuckers. And yes, I know they can find their way around the world without sat-nav, but it doesn't stop them shitting into my bird bath.

Sorry to be pedantic but Wood Pigeons don't navigate back home if relocated but I agree they can be fucking annoying especially when they sit on your chimney pot cooing and the sound seems to come right down and get amplified 

Turn the gas fire on without igniting it and gas the bastards 

[Blackpool Rock]

You should live on the coast and have to put up with seagull excrement which is spectacular when your vehicle is bombed. Then there is the stealing of your chips and ice cream  .

Oh and the noise early morning in Summer!

Yep Gotta love the Shitehawks eh 

They've been nesting on a rooftop opposite for over 20 years and today I see there is also a chick on next doors roof too, not seen them there before so perhaps it's the 1st year nesting   

I assumed they only live for 6 or 7 years but apparently wild ones live something like 10-20 years and certain species like Herring Gulls live 25-30 years

Oh and they come back to the same fucking place every year 

[Charliehutton]

Sorry to be pedantic but Wood Pigeons don't navigate back home if relocated but I agree they can be fucking annoying especially when they sit on your chimney pot cooing and the sound seems to come right down and get amplified 

Turn the gas fire on without igniting it and gas the bastards 

Rocky, in view of our shared appreciation of many Thai girls - most recently the lovely JJ, as far as I can recall - I'm prepared to overlook your pigeon pedantry. Your very good health!

[scutty brown]

Sorry to be pedantic but Wood Pigeons don't navigate back home if relocated but I agree they can be fucking annoying especially when they sit on your chimney pot cooing and the sound seems to come right down and get amplified 

Turn the gas fire on without igniting it and gas the bastards 

no don't do that....you'll end up with a build up of methane in your house - and an explosion

[scutty brown]

Yep Gotta love the Shitehawks eh 

They've been nesting on a rooftop opposite for over 20 years and today I see there is also a chick on next doors roof too, not seen them there before so perhaps it's the 1st year nesting   

I assumed they only live for 6 or 7 years but apparently wild ones live something like 10-20 years and certain species like Herring Gulls live 25-30 years

Oh and they come back to the same fucking place every year 

Tell the local birding society
From what I remember there's an annual Lancashire survey of roof-nesting gulls

[PilotMan]

Wood Pigeons, they do coo with their funny repertoire.

But they are nothing to the incessant Rooks. I've got a massive Rookery, those birds do not stop their Kaah Kahh calling, from early morning to late at night. And they create a huge racket when they do their evening ritual of flying from roost to roost en-masse.

There's at least 200 birds, maybe as many as 300. In previous years there were 400 - 500, I think a whole load of them buggered off and started a new colony.

I film a lot outdoors and every video has them in the background 

[scutty brown]

Wood Pigeons, they do coo with their funny repertoire.

But they are nothing to the incessant Rooks. I've got a massive Rookery, those birds do not stop their Kaah Kahh calling, from early morning to late at night. And they create a huge racket when they do their evening ritual of flying from roost to roost en-masse.

There's at least 200 birds, maybe as many as 300. In previous years there were 400 - 500, I think a whole load of them buggered off and started a new colony.

I film a lot outdoors and every video has them in the background 

try hanging a few black small binbags from a washing line, and be sure the birds can see you handling the bags and knocking them about.
Bags need to be crow sized. Been reported in the past to scare them away

[mr.bluesky]

Yep Gotta love the Shitehawks eh 

They've been nesting on a rooftop opposite for over 20 years and today I see there is also a chick on next doors roof too, not seen them there before so perhaps it's the 1st year nesting   

I assumed they only live for 6 or 7 years but apparently wild ones live something like 10-20 years and certain species like Herring Gulls live 25-30 years

Oh and they come back to the same fucking place every year 

I live in the Midlands furthest from the sea in all directions yet we still get a lot of seagulls , some one should tell the fuckers the clue is in their name " seagulls " not miles from the bloody sea " gulls. I bet the one I see have never seen the sea 

[timsussex]

A keen bird watcher mate if mine used to get really pissed off when people referred to seagulls He would always tell anyone that there was no bird

[Bonker]

Wood pigeons. They piss me off every day, waking me up with their gormless, annoying cooing. I'd happily shoot every one of the stupid, ugly fat fuckers. And yes, I know they can find their way around the world without sat-nav, but it doesn't stop them shitting into my bird bath.

He's having a go at the birds now!

[Thephoenix]

The local gulls in Liverpool shopping areas have become so aggressive with their divebombing antics that the local council have had to install anti bird repellent sounds to scare them off.

If I'm on holiday at the seaside I enjoy the sound of the gulls in the morning.

Having lived in Australia I can say they're not half as annoying as Australian magpies early in the morning,
or even worse, a kookaburra going at full belt. 


External Link/Members Only

External Link/Members Only

[PilotMan]

try hanging a few black small binbags from a washing line, and be sure the birds can see you handling the bags and knocking them about.
Bags need to be crow sized. Been reported in the past to scare them away

To be honest, I don't mind the Rooks. They form part of my bird orchestra, which is pretty big. Aside from the usual suspects and the infrequent ones passing through, I've got some nice regular singers. The rarest this year is a Ceti's Warbler; it was here last year too.

[Blackpool Rock]

To be honest, I don't mind the Rooks. They form part of my bird orchestra, which is pretty big. Aside from the usual suspects and the infrequent ones passing through, I've got some nice regular singers. The rarest this year is a Ceti's Warbler; it was here last year too.

I have family who live in the countryside and they have Apps on their phones to monitor bird song, sometimes if a bird is singing but they're not sure what it is they stop and let the App identify it.
Also on a walk for a couple of miles it tells them what birds have been recorded and sometimes it can be dozens of different ones, often i've never even heard of half of them

[RandomGuy99]

Bye bye long wave radio External Link/Members Only

[Private Parts]

Bye bye long wave radio External Link/Members Only

What a waste of a loyal servant. Saved my family in occupied France.
Very very sad

[scutty brown]

Wood pigeons. They piss me off every day, waking me up with their gormless, annoying cooing. I'd happily shoot every one of the stupid, ugly fat fuckers. And yes, I know they can find their way around the world without sat-nav, but it doesn't stop them shitting into my bird bath.

They're a good food resource Charlie. You just need an air rifle and you've got a fresh source of meat

[Doc Holliday]

A keen bird watcher mate if mine used to get really pissed off when people referred to seagulls He would always tell anyone that there was no bird

I apologise for my use of colloquial language. I should of course have referred to them as Gulls, many species of which are commonly found close to the sea.

If any ornithologists reading have been adversely affected by my poor choice of language, I would remind members that the 'UKP  Helpline' is available 24/7 to provide counselling.

I should also like to confirm that during this discussion, no Shitehawks were harmed in any way.

[timsussex]

I apologise for my use of colloquial language. I should of course have referred to them as Gulls, many species of which are commonly found close to the sea.

If any ornithologists reading have been adversely affected by my poor choice of language, I would remind members that the 'UKP  Helpline' is available 24/7 to provide counselling.

I should also like to confirm that during this discussion, no Shitehawks were harmed in any way.

They are a touchy lot these twitchers !

[Blackpool Rock]

They are a touchy lot these twitchers !

I believe normal bird watchers do get really touchy at being referred to as a twitcher 

Bird watchers watch birds whereas these twitchers get wind of a lesser crested grebe warbler or whatever having been blown off course by a storm and landed somewhere in the Scottish Highlands and they're off at the drop of a hat 700 miles North to try and catch sight of it 

Each to their own I guess but i'll stick to catching sight of a Thai spinners arse bouncing on my cock