The Times - UK (2021-11-10)

54 Wednesday November 10 2021 | the times

We a t h e r

5

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

7

Saturday

12

11

11

14

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

12 S 0.6 2.8

14 DU 0.0 0.0

14 B 2.0 0.0

11 PC 2.4 0.8

15 DU 0.0 **

15 PC 0.0 **

12 PC 3.6 0.0

13 C 0.2 **

14 C 0.0 0.0

15 S 0.0 **

14 B 0.2 0.2

13 B 0.0 0.1

14 DU 0.0 0.0

12 PC 2.0 0.4

13 PC 14.1 0.0

13 PC 3.0 0.0

15 DU 0.0 **

14 DU 2.2 2.8

14 PC 0.0 5.3

14 PC 0.6 0.0

13 DU 0.4 **

12 DU 7.0 1.0

13 D 5.0 **

12 S 0.2 0.5

13 PC 0.2 **

10 R 10.4 0.2

13 PC 0.4 0.1

14 B 0.0 4.6

14 M 0.0 **

15 PC 0.0 0.4

14 C 0.0 0.0

15 DU 0.6 2.5

14 B 0.0 4.6

13 DU 2.6 **

14 PC 0.0 **

13 DU 0.0 2.5

10 C 3.0 0.5

15 PC 0.0 **

14 B 0.0 **

14 C 0.2 **

14 B 0.6 **

13 DU 0.0 **

16 B 0.0 0.0

12 R 21.4 **

15 PC 0.2 3.9

11 C 6.6 **

10 PC 5.8 0.0

10 R 3.4 0.0

13 DU 12.4 0.4

11 C 0.4 **

15 PC 0.0 0.0

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

Helsinki

Hong Kong

Honolulu

Istanbul

Jerusalem

Johannesburg

Kuala Lumpur

Kyiv

Lanzarote

Las Palmas

Lima

Lisbon

Los Angeles

Luxor

Madeira

Madrid

Malaga

Mallorca

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

18 PC

10 M

19 B

20 S

28 PC

29 B

31 PC

15 PC

10 S

27 S

9 PC

11 PC

26 B

13 S

12 PC

7 R

12 PC

28 S

28 S

29 S

22 B

21 PC

17 PC

10 B

22 PC

26 S

30 PC

12 B

20 S

16 PC

11 PC

7 B

20 PC

-1 S

20 PC

29 PC

17 B

30 S

20 S

32 PC

3 PC

21 PC

22 B

17 DU

21 PC

19 PC

31 S

22 PC

15 S

20 S

17 B

22 PC

18 B

23 PC

24 B

12 PC

31 PC

13 PC

-1 DU

33 S

6 PC

27 B

20 PC

20 S

18 S

20 PC

28 S

8 R

11 PC

19 B

9 PC

4 B

2 S

26 PC

26 S

19 PC

15 B

27 S

24 S

8 R

29 PC

31 SH

-1 B

0 SL

20 B

30 S

23 PC

19 SH

10 B

14 PC

11 PC

2 B

19 S

5 B

The Times weather

page is provided

by Weatherquest

Five days ahead

Staying rather

changeable with the risk

of rain or showers

Today Southern areas will stay rather cloudy with rain in places. Sunnier in the north. Max 14C (57F), min 0C (32F)

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

05:10 4.0 17:19 3.9

10:44 11.7 23:13 11.0

02:48 3.4 15:03 3.5

10:30 10.9 23:02 10.3

09:21 5.1 21:56 4.7

02:16 6.3 14:50 6.1

03:11 3.8 15:26 3.9

08:48 4.8 21:26 4.3

03:43 3.5 15:58 3.5

02:56 3.7 15:29 3.8

01:50 5.2 14:11 5.2

09:54 6.8 22:04 6.7

06:19 5.2 18:36 5.0

02:30 8.5 14:56 8.5

05:09 6.3 17:39 6.7

00:36 2.5 13:30 2.4

09:54 6.3 22:25 5.8

02:42 8.5 15:08 8.5

02:30 6.3 14:51 6.0

08:48 6.4 21:20 5.9

09:14 3.5 21:35 3.0

08:18 5.1 20:48 4.7

03:09 4.5 15:22 4.4

02:34 5.8 14:56 5.6

02:40 4.4 04:19 4.4

10:00 8.5 22:30 7.9

07:27 5.1 19:40 5.0

10:07 1.9 22:51 1.6

Synoptic situation

Much of Europe will benefi t

from being underneath a broad

area of high pressure, which

should bring dry and sunny

weather, but a weak cold front

across southern Britain will

bring some showery outbreaks

of rain here. Northern Europe

will be colder and more

unsettled, especially across

Scandinavia where outbreaks of

sleet and snow are likely.

Highs and lows

24hrs to 5pm yesterday

Warmest: Hawarden,

Flintshire, 17.1C

Coldest: Aboyne, 2.4C

Wettest: Spadeadam,

Cumbria, 26.4mm

Sunniest: Wattisham, 5.3hrs*

Sun and moon

For Greenwich

Sun rises:

Sun sets:

Moon rises:

Moon sets:

First Quarter: November 11

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen

Belfast

Birmingham

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Norwich

Penzance

Sheffi eld

16:34-07:12

17:00-07:16

16:52-06:52

17:00-06:54

17:04-06:53

16:48-07:15

16:53-07:00

16:48-06:42

16:49-06:57

16:41-07:00

16:38-06:40

17:14-06:59

16:47-06:54

General situation: Cloudy across

southern Britain with some rain.

Brighter and drier in the north.

Channel Is, SW, Cen S and SE Eng,

London, S Wales, Midlands, E Anglia,

E Eng: Generally cloudy with the risk

of some light rain or drizzle at times.

A few drier and brighter intervals in

the east. Light west or southwesterly

winds. Maximum 14C (57F),

minimum 6C (43F).

Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Much of

the day will be dry, early mist and fog

patches slowly clearing to leave some

sunshine. Showery rain will spread

from the south later. Light south or

southwesterly winds. Maximum

12C (54F), minimum 0C (32F).

N Wales, NW Eng, IoM, Lake District,

SW Scotland: The small risk of a light

shower but much of the day should

be dry with some sunshine. Light and

variable winds. Maximum 12C (54F),

minimum 0C (32F).

Cen N and NE Eng, Borders, Edinburgh

and Dundee, Aberdeen, Moray Firth: It

should be a dry and fi ne day, any early

mist patches soon clearing to leave

some long spells of bright sunshine.

Light winds, mainly from the west

or southwest. Maximum 12C (54F),

minimum 1C (34F).

Glasgow, Argyll, Cen Highland, NW

and NE Scotland, N Isles: Some dry

and sunny spells but also the risk of

occasional showers. Light to moderate

southwesterly wind, fresher in the

north. Maximum 10C (50F),

minimum 0C (32F).

Tomorrow

13

9

12

14

Friday

13

13

14

Sunday

11

9

13

11

Monday

11

8

11

11

3

owly clearing to

9 9

5

oooo

4

10

22

23

27

neyney

20

26

12

12

11

10

8

9

6

8

9 8

13

14

13

13

9

12

11

9

9

13

(^3) r
4
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
-15
Wind speed
(mph)
Temperature
28 (degrees C)
34
Sea state
Calm
Slight
Moderate
Rough
Flood alerts and warnings
At 17:00 on Tuesday there were
three fl ood alerts in England but no
fl ood alerts or warnings in Wales or
Scotland. For further information
and updates in England visit fl ood-
warning-information.service.gov.uk,
for Wales naturalresources.wales/
fl ooding and for Scotland SEPA.org.uk
Cold front
Warm front
Occluded front
Trough
LOW
HIGH
LOW
LOW
HIGH
LOW HIGH LOW
1032
1024
1024
1016 1016
1008
1008
1000
1000
1000
992
992
984
984
Rather cloudy in the southeast with
a few showers. Brighter and drier
elsewhere with some sunshine.
Max 14C, min 1C
Dry and bright for many places. Ireland
will be cloudier with outbreaks of rain
spreading from the south.
Max 15C, min 1C
Breezy across much of northern and
western Britain as a band of rain
moves southeast across the UK, heavy
in places.
Max 15C, min 3C
A dry day for many places. Eastern
England will be cloudier with the risk
of isolated showers.
Max 14C, min 1C
Dry once again with mostly broken
cloud and spells of sunshine.
Max 13C, min -1C
07.09
16.17
13.32
21.33
10
A
great ball of fiery light
came hurtling down from
the sky at tremendous
speed towards the
Atacama region of Chile
about 12,000 years ago. It exploded
in the air and triggered an inferno
reaching more than 1,700C, heat so
intense that it melted the sandy soil
and turned it into slabs of molten
green and black glass that were
twisted and thrown through the
conflagration. Fierce winds ripped
across the land, and all living things
there would have suffered terribly.
This area is is now the Atacama
Desert, and all that remains of the
catastrophe is masses of dark green
or black glasses fused into bundles
up to 50cm across and strewn on the
ground for about 75km. An earlier
explanation had suggested that the
glass was made from grass fires
melting the sand but now an
extraterrestrial cause has been
proposed. The glass bodies contain
telltale signs of a comet, according
to a recent study published in the
journal Geology. Exotic minerals in
the glass were uncannily like those
found by Nasa’s Stardust mission,
which retrieved particles from a
comet called Wild 2. One of the
minerals, zircon, had also turned
into another, baddeleyite, a
transformation that typically needs
temperatures over 1,700C. Such heat
is far more intense than from grass
fires, and the contorted shapes of
the glass bodies on the desert floor
were another sign of a large comet
exploding in an airborne eruption.
“This is the first time we have
clear evidence of glasses on Earth
that were created by the thermal
radiation and winds from a fireball
exploding just above the surface,”
Pete Schultz, a geologist at Brown
University, said. “To have such a
dramatic effect on such a large area,
this was a truly massive explosion.”
Today the Atacama is one of the
driest places on Earth but 12,000
years ago it was a grassland with
wildlife including horses and sloths,
and humans had begun to settle the
region. At about this time much of
the area’s wildlife disappeared,
although whether that was caused by
the comet has not been confirmed.
Weather Eye
Paul Simons