[A-List] Destructive creation: global warming hits London

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

It's getting warmer - just look at the frogs
By Michael McCarthy
The Independent, 25 October 2002

Global warming is already affecting London, the capital's Mayor, Ken
Livingstone said yesterday. You can tell by the frogs.

Mr Livingstone, who is amphibian-fancier as much as he is politician, told a
conference on how London will be affected by climate change that summers
have become warm enough to breed French edible frogs in his garden pond. The
Mayor said rising temperatures had allowed them to breed in London for the
first time since the Romans.

He treated a City Hall audience of local government officials, economists
and scientists to a life history of the frog Rana esculenta. "It was our
rarest amphibian for centuries," he said. "I suspect its problem was that
unlike our common frog which lays its spawn in February, it wouldn't spawn
until the end of May or early June. So with our summers there was never
really the time for a generation of edible frogs to make it through in
sufficiently large size to get through hibernation." But now global warming
had arrived. "People have woken up in terms of their personal experience to
the fact that there are the most dramatic changes taking place in climate,
certainly within living memory," he said.

The Mayor told the conference about his experience with edible frogs. "I put
a few in my garden pond a decade ago," he said. "They are now on their third
generation.

"Our summers have become sufficiently warm in London for the first time
certainly since Roman times, for edible frogs to establish a base. I shall
soon have enough for a dinner party of four. You are welcome to join me."

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London will feel the heat as climate changes
By Michael McCarthy Environment Editor
The Independent, 25 October 2002

Underground trains hot beyond bearing, working conditions constantly
uncomfortable, air pollution in the streets steadily worsening and flooding
that devastates housing and transport - such may be life in London during
the coming century, a conference on climate change and the capital was told
yesterday.

All of the possible consequences of global warming may affect London in a
more severe way, speakers told the conference, because of the "urban heat
island" effect - the rise in temperature caused by thousands of homes and
businesses in close proximity.

Furthermore, its position on the edge of the Thames estuary makes the
capital vulnerable to sea-level rises, with £80bn worth of land and property
at risk - nearly a 10th of the national assets.

A study on the likely impact of climate change on London was launched at the
conference, which was held at City Hall, the Greater London Assembly
building, and addressed by the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Environment
Minister, Michael Meacher.

Mr Meacher painted a stark picture. "Climate change could be a particular
problem for London because of urban heat island effect," he said. "London is
five to six degrees warmer than its rural surroundings on summer nights, and
climate change will certainly intensify this effect.

"By the end of the century, summers could be as hot as those of present-day
New York, and buildings could become uncomfortable to live and work in. We
could experience some very, very high temperatures in the London
underground, where it has already reached 40C on one occasion."

Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storm surges and heavy spells of
rain would become more frequent, Mr Meacher said. "During a rainstorm in
August this year over an inch of rain fell on London in a half-hour period,
leading to closure of five of the capital's mainline railway stations.
That's just one example and, I repeat, we are at the beginning of a rising
curve."

Climate change was also increasing the flood risk to London from storm
surges and sea-level rise, Mr Meacher said. "The city has a far greater
potential for damage from flooding than any other urban area in the UK."

Last year, the Thames barrier was closed 13 times, the greatest number of
closures in its 18-year record. The Environment Agency had estimated that an
additional £4bn will need to be invested over the next 40 years to protect
London from rising sea levels.

The urban heat island effect might mean poorer health and comfort in the
capital, a greater demand for cooling, and poorer air quality, Dr Rob Wilby
of King's College London said. It might also affect wildlife, and some
species - such as the rosy-ringed parakeet breeding in some London parks -
might do well.

The weather patterns to be expected in summer, with high pressure systems
giving more sunshine and lower wind speed, would exacerbate the poor air
quality problems, Dr Wilby said.

Jim Kersey of the environmental consultancy Entec said the rise in
temperatures could mean workplaces will be uncomfortable for a quarter of
the capital's population by 2050. There could be some benefits for tourism
and leisure, with a growth in pavement café culture. "But, in general, the
effect on society will be more negative than positive," Mr Kersey said.