Prof Tim Palmer from Oxford University said there were still too many unknowns in climate forecasting. And in the month the SpaceX launch grabbed headlines, he said just one of the firm's billions could transform climate modelling. Short-term weather forecasting is generally very accurate. And long-term trends in rising temperatures aren’t in doubt. But Prof Palmer says many puzzles remain unsolved: take the recent weird weather in the UK, with the wettest February on record followed by the sunniest Spring. Weather somersault Meteorologists were astounded by this unprecedented weather somersault – and especially by the amazing amount that May sunshine exceeded the previous record. This year’s figure was 13% higher than the previous record – that’s like the winner of the 100 metres leaving opponents over 11 metres behind. Some place the blame on climate change, but the Met Office says, as yet, there’s no strong evidence for that. Prof Palmer told BBC News: “It would be really valuable for us to have more knowledge of how climate change is affecting weather patterns like this. “Was climate change implicated in the recent weird weather? We don’t know.” He agrees that space observations have massively improved our understanding of the climate. But he complains: “It is very frustrating to see space get quite so much attention when we can’t be sure what will happen to the climate on Earth. “If only we could secure one of their billions for computer modelling that would be a big help.” So what do we know so far about recent British weather weirdness? Jetstream locked Well, here’s what’s clear: the strong jetstream to the south-west of England through the winter locked in place the succession of Atlantic storms that drenched the UK. The Met Office successfully predicted the wet winter in its seasonal forecast, but failed to predict the sudden leap to a dry spring when... |