October usually welcomes an Autumnal chill that swiftly blows away any traces we had of summer. However, this year heat levels are set to soar as sizzling October sun sees temperatures rising higher than Madrid – the hottest climate the UK has seen in seven years.
The warm weather comes at an interesting time, as a groundbreaking study conducted by the UN was released on Monday, informing humanity on the necessary steps we must take in order to prevent catastrophic climate change.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claimed that we have just 12 years to drastically reduce the speed of global warming, limiting the rapidly rising temperatures of the planet to 1.5°C per year. However, in order to do so, the UN’s report suggests “shifting to low or zero emission power generation, changing food systems away from land-intensive animal products; electrifying transport and developing ‘green infrastructure’, such as building green roofs, and improving energy efficiency.”
Brighton ranked as the most plant based curious city in the UK
Veganism is under constant debate, with many carnivores ridiculing the suggestion of plant-based eating. However, it seems the controversy may finally come to an end as the UN has urged people to adopt a plant-based, or at the very least, ‘flexitarian diet’, where meat is consumed less than once a week.
It has been proven that carbon emissions must be reduced by 45% in order to save the planet from catastrophic climate change. The agricultural industry is responsible for 14.5% of these dangerous emissions.
If the diet of the population remains the same as it is now, the impacts of food production on the environment will rise by up to 90 per cent by 2050, meaning the planet will no longer be a “safe operating space for humanity”.
In a study conducted revealing Google trends analysis, the term ‘vegan’ was searched the most times by people in Brighton! It seems the people of this city have always been ahead of the game in sustainability, joining Brighton refill last year to reduce plastic waste, as well as conducting regular beach cleans, and electing the first green MP in 2010.
Not just an Indian Summer?
Weather forecasts for Brighton have warned of temperatures rising from the mid to high twenties this week. Tropical storm Leslie in the mid-Atlantic has surged a band of warmer winds northwards towards our coast, causing hot-air from the Canary Islands to hit Brighton this October.
The MET Office explains that an ‘Indian Summer’ is typically another phrase for an ‘Autumn heatwave’. Meteorologist Phillip Eden states that “the North American Indians – native Americans – who lived on the eastern seaboard used to depend on extended periods of fine, quiet, sunny weather at this time of the year to complete their harvest and to put together stores of food to see them through the long, cold winter.”
So why has Brighton seen the return of sunny skies and scorching temperatures? Could it simply be the case of an unusual band of weather, or, could it be the effects of climate change already taking their toll on the environment?
Featured image provided by Joao Paulo Fernades.
