TheTimes8April2020

the times | Wednesday April 8 2020 1GM 53

We a t h e r

Channel Islands

NORTH

SEA

CHANNEL

IRISH

SEA

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Aberdeen

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Carlisle

Newcastle

York

Manchester

Liverpool

Hull

Llandudno

Shrewsbury

Nottingham

Sheffield

Norwich

Cambridge

Oxford

Bristol

Swansea

Cardiff

Plymouth

Exeter

Southampton

Brighton

London

Londonderry

Belfast

Galway

Dublin

Cork

Birmingham

CELTIC

SEA

Orkney Shetland

333333333

Saturday

17

13

14

16

Aberdeen

Aberporth

Anglesey

Aviemore

Barnstaple

Bedford

Belfast

Birmingham

Bournemouth

Bridlington

Bristol

Camborne

Cardiff

Edinburgh

Eskdalemuir

Glasgow

Hereford

Herstmonceux

Ipswich

Isle of Man

Isle of Wight

Jersey

Keswick

Kinloss

Leeds

Lerwick

Leuchars

Lincoln

Liverpool

London

Lyneham

Manchester

Margate

Milford Haven

Newcastle

Nottingham

Orkney

Oxford

Plymouth

Portland

Scilly, St Mary’s

Shoreham

Shrewsbury

Snowdonia

Southend

South Uist

Stornoway

Tiree

Whitehaven

Wick

Yeovilton

Around Britain

Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy

du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain,

sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder

*=previous day **=data not available

Temp C Rain mm Sun hr*

midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday

Noon today

11 S 0.0 7.3

13 S 0.0 12.0

11 PC 0.0 11.5

11 S 0.4 6.5

15 S 0.0 **

16 S 0.0 **

12 PC 0.6 9.2

15 S 0.0 **

15 PC 0.0 10.4

12 S 0.0 **

15 S 0.0 10.2

12 PC 0.0 10.3

13 S 0.2 11.9

12 S 0.0 7.2

10 PC 1.6 4.7

12 S 0.0 9.2

14 S 0.0 **

16 S 0.0 5.7

16 S 0.0 2.8

10 B 0.0 11.3

15 S 0.0 **

14 C 0.2 7.4

12 S 0.0 **

13 S 0.2 7.2

14 S 0.0 **

10 PC 0.0 8.2

11 S 0.0 8.7

15 PC 0.0 8.0

13 ** 0.0 **

17 PC 0.0 4.4

15 S 0.0 9.7

14 S 0.0 9.4

13 S 0.0 2.2

12 S 0.2 **

14 S 0.0 **

15 S 0.0 7.2

11 S 0.0 9.1

16 PC 0.0 **

14 C 0.0 **

11 PC 0.0 **

12 PC 0.2 **

16 PC 0.0 4.0

13 PC 0.0 9.4

12 S 0.0 **

13 S 0.0 4.8

10 PC 0.0 **

9 C 1.0 9.0

9 S 0.0 8.9

11 S 0.0 7.4

9 S 0.0 **

15 PC 0.0 5.5

The world

All readings local midday yesterday

Alicante

Amsterdam

Athens

Auckland

Bahrain

Bangkok

Barbados

Barcelona

Beijing

Beirut

Belgrade

Berlin

Bermuda

Bordeaux

Brussels

Bucharest

Budapest

Buenos Aires

Cairo

Calcutta

Canberra

Cape Town

Chicago

Copenhagen

Corfu

Delhi

Dubai

Dublin

Faro

Florence

Frankfurt

Geneva

Gibraltar

Harare

Helsinki

Hong Kong

Honolulu

Istanbul

Jerusalem

Johannesburg

Kuala Lumpur

Lanzarote

Las Palmas

Lima

Lisbon

Los Angeles

Luxor

Madeira

Madrid

Mallorca

Malaga

Malta

Melbourne

Mexico City

Miami

Milan

Mombasa

Montreal

Moscow

Mumbai

Munich

Nairobi

Naples

New Orleans

New York

Nice

Nicosia

Oslo

Paris

Perth

Prague

Reykjavik

Riga

Rio de Janeiro

Riyadh

Rome

San Francisco

Santiago

São Paulo

Seoul

Seychelles

Singapore

St Petersburg

Stockholm

Sydney

Tel Aviv

Tenerife

Tokyo

Vancouver

Venice

Vienna

Warsaw

Washington

Zurich

17 PC

18 S

9 B

21 PC

34 S

3 4 PC

3 1 PC

17 PC

17 S

19 PC

16 S

19 S

20 PC

18 S

19 S

16 S

17 S

18 S

20 S

36 S

16 B

18 PC

17 B

14 S

20 S

29 S

29 S

14 B

18 B

23 S

21 S

19 S

19 B

** **

13 S

20 PC

27 B

12 S

21 PC

23 S

3 2 PC

21 PC

23 PC

20 M

18 B

16 C

30 S

2 1 PC

17 B

19 S

15 B

18 PC

14 B

2 7 PC

29 B

20 S

29 R

** **

5 S

31 S

20 S

2 4 PC

21 S

** **

16 PC

19 S

2 1 PC

12 S

19 S

32 S

16 S

3 SH

20 S

29 PC

34 S

19 S

10 R

27 S

28 S

12 PC

3 2 PC

30 PC

16 S

7 DU

20 B

2 1 PC

23 PC

14 PC

9 B

19 S

17 S

20 S

19 PC

19 S

The Times weather er r r rrrrrrrrrr

page is provided

by Weatherquestt

Five days ahead

Milder temperatures

continuing for the next

few days, but rain more

likely over the weekend

Today Largely dry with sunny spells in southern Britain. Cloudy in the north with drizzle. Max 23C (73F), min -3C (27F)

Tides

Tidal predictions.

Heights in metres

Today Ht Ht

Aberdeen

Avonmouth

Belfast

Cardiff

Devonport

Dover

Dublin

Falmouth

Greenock

Harwich

Holyhead

Hull

Leith

Liverpool

London Bridge

Lowestoft

Milford Haven

Morecambe

Newhaven

Newquay

Oban

Penzance

Portsmouth

Shoreham

Southampton

Swansea

Tees

Weymouth

0 2:13 4.4 14:23 4. 6

0 8:1 9 14.3 20:45 14. 3

1 2: 0 3 3.7 --:-- --

0 8: 0 8 13.1 2 0 :34 13. 1

06 :48 5.8 19:17 5. 6

1 2:10 7.0 --:-- --

0 0:13 4.1 12:30 4.3

06 :10 5.5 18:37 5.3

0 1:29 3.4 13:28 3. 6

00 :25 4.1 12:54 4.3

1 1:17 6 .1 23:43 5. 9

0 7:2 0 7.8 1 9 :27 8.1

0 3:24 5.8 15:40 6. 0

0 0:01 9.9 12:20 10.2

0 2:40 7.2 15:04 7.4

1 0:35 2.5 22:3 6 2.7

0 7:14 7. 6 19:38 7.5

0 0:02 9.8 12:19 10.1

1 2:11 7.0 --:-- --

06 :05 7.4 18:28 7.4

0 6:44 4.3 19:07 4.1

0 5:37 5.9 18:01 5.8

0 0:03 4.9 12:17 4. 9

0 0:02 6 .7 12:21 6. 6

0 1:16 4.5 11:52 4.8

0 7:19 10.1 19:44 10. 2

0 4:34 5. 6 16 :4 5 5 .8

0 7:49 2.3 20:34 2.3

Synoptic situation

A broad and dominant area of

high pressure will lead to a

largely dry and sunny day over

much of Europe and southern

Britain, although with warmer

temperatures a few afternoon

showers are possible, very

isolated in southern England.

Cloudier in Ireland and Scotland

with a weather front bringing

some spells of patchy drizzle,

slowly sinking southwards.

Highs and lows

24hrs to 5pm yesterday

Warmest: Northolt,

Greater London, 19.9C

Coldest: Sennybridge,

Powys, - 3 .1C

Wettest: Derrylin, 2.8mm

Sunniest: Aberdaron, 12.3hrs*

Sun and moon

For Greenwich

Sun rises:

Sun sets:

Moon rises:

Moon sets:

Third quarter: April 1 4

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen

Belfast

Birmingham

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Norwich

Penzance

Sheffi eld

20:33-0 5 :4 4

20:43-0 6 :0 4

20:24-0 5 : 51

20:27-05:5 8

20 :28- 06 : 01

20:39-05:5 5

20:30-0 5 : 54

20:15-05:4 6

20:27-0 5 : 51

20:27-0 5 :4 6

20:11-0 5 :3 8

20:3 5 -0 6 :1 0

20:24-0 5 :4 8

General situation: Cloudy in the north dit

and west with rain in places. Drier

and sunny farther south with a few

isolated heavy afternoon showers.

SW Eng, Cen S Eng, SE Eng, London,

E Anglia, E Mids, Channel Is: Cloudy

to start in places, with a few light

showersshowers in the southwest Increasing in the southwest. Increasing

amounts of sunshine through the day,

but with a few isolated heavy showers

later. Misty at times on the coast.

Light and variable wind. Maximum

2 3C (73F), minimum 5C (41F).

N Ireland, Republic of Ireland: Cloudy

in the north with patchy drizzle. Early

fog in the south clearing to leave a dry

and sunny day. Mist may linger on the

coast. Light southerly winds. Maximum

1 8C (64F), minimum 4C (39F).

Wales, W Mids, Cen N Eng, NW Eng,

EE Eng Lake District NE Eng IoM: Eng, Lake District, NE Eng, IoM: DryDry

with sunny spells and cloud at times.

Light southwesterly winds. Maximum

20C (68F), minimum 4C (39F).

SW Scotland, Edinburgh & Dundee,

Borders, Aberdeen: A dry start to the

day with some bright or sunny spells.

Cloudier from the north later with a

few spots of drizzle. Light to moderate

southwesterly winds. Maximum

1 5C (59F), minimum -1C (30F).

NW Scotland, Glasgow, NE Scotland,

Argyll, Cen Highland, Moray Firth,

NN Isles: Isles: AA wet start for most with rain wet start for most with rain

persisting over the high ground. Rain

patchier later, with sunshine in the

north. Light to moderate southerly

winds, more variable later. Maximum

8 C (46F), minimum -3C (27F).

Tomorrow

17

11

14

19

15

8

15

18

Easter Sunday

16

12

12

15

Monday

13

12

13

13

1

Republic of Irela

7

6

3

oooo

5

101

21

9

neyney Sh

1131113113113131131313131313131313131311131131313131313333333333333333333333333333333

161666

16

17

16

13

12

11

7

88

99 9

20

19

18

17

16

16

14

10

8

16

r

7

9

ih

L

k

F

95

86

77

68

59

50

41

32

23

14

5

C

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

• 5


• 10
  -1 5

Wind speedWddppee

(mph)

Temperature

28 (degrees C)

3434

Sea stateSSaa aaee

Calm Cl

Slight

Moderate

Rough

Flood alerts and warnings

At 17:00 on Tuesday there were

30 fl ood alerts and no warnings

in England, one fl ood alert but no

warnings in Wales, and no fl ood

alerts or warnings in Scotland. For

further information and updates

in England visit fl ood-warning-

information.service.gov.uk,uk, for Wales for Wales

naturalresources.wales/flfl ooding and

for Scotland SEPA.org.ukk

Cold front

Warm front

Occluded front

Trough

LOWLOWLOWLOWLOWOOWOWOWOWOOOWOWOOOOWOWOOWOWOOWOOOWOWOOOOOOOOWOWOWWWWWWWWWWWWW

HIGHGHGHGGHGGHGHGHGGHGHGGHGHGHGHGHHH

LOWLLOWLLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLLLLLOWLOWLOWLOWLLOWLOLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOLOWOWOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

LOWOWOWWWWWW

HHHIGHHHHHHHHHIGHHHHHHHHHH

HIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHIIGHIIIGHIGHIIIGHIGIGHIIGHIIIIGIIIIGHIGHIGIGHIIIGHIGHIIGHIGHIIGHIGHIIIIGHIGHIGHIIGGGGGHGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

LLOWLOLOLOLOWLOWLOWLOWLOLOLOLOLOLOLOWLOWLOLOWLOLOLOLOLOWLOOWOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW

HIGHHIGHIGHHIGHHHIGHHHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGIGHIGIGHIGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGGGHGGGHGHGGGHGGHHHHHH

103210321032103210321032103210320320320000320303032032003200032000030030320320303003203203332323333332332332333332333323332333332332322222222222222222222222222

111102102102101010102110110110110241111110102110101021021101021011110102102110111110211111021021110200020000000000000020020000002020020240000020222222222222222222

110241024101111021024102411024102410241110240240202024024024002400240202000242224444444

1011016101610161011016101610161016101101011016000100100000001010000101000101000001111111116

1016101101610111016101610111000001010001010100001001010100100000100010100100011

100810010081008100800000000800000000000000000000080000000008

10081008100100810080000080000000000000000000000000000800000080000800800808080800888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

10010001000

101010100100100010001000101110010101010111111010111110100101001011010110101011011010111011101000000000000000000000000000

1000100010001000100010100010010001110001100000000000000000000000000000000000000000

9999999999999999999999999299999999999999999999999999999999999999999292929999292999999999999992999992999999299999992929292929292929999299999222222222222

Cloudy along the south coast at times

with a few spells of rain or showers.

Largely dry with sunny spells in central Largely dry withhhhsunsunnnny sypellps in centra

areas, but ascascascscaccacacacccacacacattering of cattering of cattering of showers over caaaaaatttterttertterttterttertterttterttterttertterttertterttertertertererrriniiiiningingiininiiingingngngnngoofofofof of ofof of of sofofffff ffshowers overr

Scotlandanddd parts of Iredddddddd parts of Ired parts of Iredpparpaparpapaparparppapaparparparpaparpaparrrrts ts ttststts ts tsssssssssssooIrIrIrIIrIrrrrrrrrrrrreelanelanelanelae dd.

Max 20C,minminminininin 3Ciinin 3Cinin 3Cinnnnnnnn 3 3C 33 3C 33 3CCCCCCCCCCCC

Largely dry with sunny spells across

much of southern and central Britain,

but again there is the small risk of anbut again theree is tiis thhehhe small risk of an

isolated shower. Cloudier wewer.wer.wer.werwer.wewer. Cloudier eereerer.eer.er.er.er.eer. Cloudier er..CloCloCloCloCloooooooooooooooooudieudieudieududieudieuuudieudieudiedididiedier r r r r r rrr irr in Ireland

and western n n n n Scotland.ScotScotScotScotScoScoScotland.ScoScotScoSScScoScoScoScoScotland.Scocotoootootlallllalalalalalalalalaaandaaan.

Max 21C,minminminmininiin 3Cinin 3Cinininin 3Cinnnnn 3 3C3C3C 33 3CCCCCCCCCCC

A generally cloudy day across much

of the British Isles as an area of

patchy rain spreads eastwards. Drier patchy rain spreeeeads aads eeeastwards. Drier

in southeasttEngEEngEngEngEngEnglanEEngEngEnglanEngEngEngEngEnEEngEnEngland withEngEEnglanEngnngland witnngnglanngland witnnglannglanngngggland witgland itggggland wglangggggglanglanlanlanlandanndndndndnnnnndndndnndndndndnnnnnnnnddddd ithdwd ithd witddddddddddwitwwitwitwitwwitwitwitwitwwwwwwwwitwitwiitititiitthttthhhhhhhhhh thh hhhhh e best of

the brightneeeeess tss tss thesssss thesssss tss thesss there.ss tsss tssss tss tss tss tssss tssss tss tss tss tss ts therss therss thesssss therssssss tstsss tsss theresssssssstsssttttthtttherthetherttherhhherherheheherheherhhhehherhherhereererereeeeereerrrerrrre

Max 24C,minminminminiinininin 5Ciiniiiiiinn5Cnnnnnnn5Cnnnn5Cnnnnnn5Cnnnnn 5 5C5C5C 555 5C5C5C 5 CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

A generally unsettled day with

showers or outbreaks of rain likely for

many, most likely in the west.many, most likeleely iny iny iny in the west.

Max 16C,mininnn-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1-1C-1-1C-1C-1-1C-1C-1C-1 1 1C 11 CCCC

Breezy across the south with areas of

cloud bringing an odd shower or spot

of light rain. Dry in the north withof light rain. Dry iry y y n tn ttthe north with

some lengthyhyyyyyspespesspells of suspspellsspspspellssspspespspespellsspespespespells of suspspspspspespells sppeppppppells pppells of suppppeppells ofeellsellsllsllsllls s ssssssssss ss ss ssssssssss soof sooooof suof soof sof sof sof soooof sof sof soof sof sof soof sooooooffffffffffssuuuuuuuuuunuunuuuuuunshine.

Max 13C,miiniiinnnnn2Cnnnnnnnnnnnnn 2Cnnnnnnnnnn -2Cnnnnnnnn-2n2nnnnnnnnnnn 2Cn2nnnnnnn -2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C 2 2C 22 2C 222 2C 222222222222 2C 22 CCCCC

06 .1 8

19 .4 5

20 .2 3

07.19 Thu

13

T

he smell and taste of

beetroot is one that people

either seem to love or hate.

A similar distinctly earthy,

musty smell came to mind

after the rain on Monday night

across much of the UK. After a long

dry spell a fresh fall of rain releases

geosmin, a scent so irresistible that

it is used as an ingredient in

perfume in India, where it is known

as mitti attar, or Earth’s perfume,

and is made from distilling the

essence of monsoon-soaked soil. The

same chemical also gives beetroot

its earthy taste and smell.

The English poet and author Edith

Nesbit and her half-sister Saretta

(also known as Caris Brooke) wrote

in All Year Round (1888):

“And scent of earth, sweet with the

evening rain,

And slow soft speech beneath the

rain-washed trees,

Ah, that such things should never

come again!”

In the soil geosmin is made by

microbes, particularly Streptomyces

coelicolor bacteria, and our noses

are so sensitive to the smell we can

detect levels of 0.7 parts per billion.

Our extraordinary sensitivity to

geosmin may go back to prehistoric

times when people may have used

the smell to track down water in dry

climates. Detecting the scent of

geosmin may also be widespread in

animals. It has been suggested that

camels might be so sensitive to

geosmin that they can track down

oases miles away. The scent of

geosmin has recently been found to

attract Aedes aegypti, the mosquito

responsible for carrying yellow

fever. The female mosquitoes need

to find water to lay their eggs and

may also associate geosmin with

cyanobacteria that live in water and

are eaten by the mosquito larvae.

An intriguing idea is using geosmin

as a lure to trap the mosquitoes. If

geosmin is unavailable then

beetroot peel can be used instead.

The study was published in Current

Biology (bit.ly/3aQ5qXF).

Fruit flies, conversely, find

geosmin so repulsive that it

overrides their attraction to their

favourite foods, so perhaps wet soil

could be used to keep flies off fruit.

Weather Eye

Paul Simons