Environment

ROME – Seven bodies were found in a region straddling the French-Italian border near Nice on Sunday after torrential rains swept houses and roads away, officials in both countries said. Five of the bodies were discovered in northwestern Italy, including four washed up on the shore between the towns of Ventimiglia and Santo Stefano al Mare, near the French frontier. Some of the corpses might have been swept down the coast from France. Two more were found in France, including a shepherd found by an Italian search and rescue team. The other body was found in a vehicle that had been swept away by flash-flooding in the village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie. It brings to nine the number of people found dead after fierce rains and howling gales lashed the border area on Friday. French firefighters said another 21 people were missing, eight of them known to be as a direct result of the storm. The bad weather caused millions of euros in damage, with several road bridges swept away in Italy, and s..

ROME – Seven bodies were found in a region straddling the French-Italian border near Nice on Sunday after torrential rains swept houses and roads away, officials in both countries said. Five of the bodies were discovered in northwestern Italy, including four washed up on the shore between the towns of Ventimiglia and Santo Stefano al Mare, near the French frontier. Some of the corpses might have been swept down the coast from France. Two more were found in France, including a shepherd found by an Italian search and rescue team. The other body was found in a vehicle that had been swept away by flash-flooding in the village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie. It brings to nine the number of people found dead after fierce rains and howling gales lashed the border area on Friday. French firefighters said another 21 people were missing, eight of them known to be as a direct result of the storm. The bad weather caused millions of euros in damage, with several road bridges swept away in Italy, and s..

First, let’s dispel a myth. Not all moths are brown and boring. [contfnewc] [contfnewc] Some species are colourful and just as beautiful as their butterfly cousins. But, their numbers are falling – which will have a knock-on effect on the environment and humankind. There have been significant changes to moth populations in the UK over the last 50 years. The Atlas of Britain and Ireland’s Larger Moths, based on 25.6 million moth records submitted over 275 years, presents the most recent information on species distribution (where they are found) and abundance (numbers of each species). The study looked at patterns of change from 1970-2016 and showed that 31 per cent of the 390 species had declined in distribution, while 38 per cent of species increased. What’s more, 34 per cent showed a significant decrease in abundance, while 11 per cent showed a substantial increase. Put simply, moths are decreasing in numbers more than they are increasing. Similar trends have been seen elsewhere ..

Greece is bracing to be hit by a rare Mediterranean cyclone. A “deep barometric low” is expected to start on Thursday afternoon in the west, Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias said in a statement yesterday. The cyclone, named Ianos, should come close to the Greek western coastal area by Friday morning, according to the European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX).[contfnewc] [contfnewc] Maximum sustained winds were near 90 km/h on Thursday with higher gusts, the organisation said. Ianos will cause heavy rainfall that will reach up to 400 mm in some areas, which could result in flash floods, it added. There is a risk of tornadoes developing, according to ESTOFEX. “We are preparing to face a rare extreme weather phenomenon,” Hardalias said, adding that citizens living in regions likely to be affected by the weather front should limit their movements to only those that are strictly necessary. Ianos is predicted to first hit the islands of Zante, Kefalonia and Ithaca, a..

Road planners in England have been accused of rigging accounting rules to disguise the climate impact of new roads. Environmentalists say the Department for Transport has under-counted CO2 from its road improvement programme. That’s because the DfT measures emissions against national CO2 targets, whilst measuring benefits of a new road against the local economy. A Treasury spokesperson said this was a reasonable approach. But critics say the resulting calculation exaggerates the benefits of new roads, whilst downgrading the negatives in terms of carbon emissions. Chris Todd, director of pressure group Transport Action Network, told the BBC it proved the government has one rule for its £27bn road-building programme, and another rule for everything else. He said: “This is like someone who’s morbidly obese insisting they can gorge on another cream cake, because no single cake will have a ‘material impact’ on their well-being.” The Treasury strongly rejects the allegation. A spokes..

Tropical Storm Marco grew to hurricane strength Sunday, one of two powerful storms marching toward the Gulf Coast and threatening a historic double slam of landfalls within miles of each other. Hurricane Marco is likely to make landfall in Louisiana late Monday. Tropical Storm Laura is expected to reach hurricane status before it roars into the state Wednesday. National Weather Service Meteorologist Benjamin Schott said such a confluence of storms hasn’t happened in the Gulf of Mexico in recorded history. Isolated areas could see 15 inches of rain from the two storms, he said. “We have a very unique situation with two storms that unfortunately are headed to Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday. “They pose a challenge we have quite frankly not seen before.” Edwards said the “one-two punch” of hurricanes will blanket the state’s coastline with storm surge as high as 10 feet in some areas and prompt flash flooding in others. He said residents should be ready to shelter in pla..

BRITONS are bracing for temperatures to rise to a scorching 24C today following a miserable week of heavy rain and thunder.24C Todays forecast is likely to contain warm periods but also showers which could be thundery. The heaviest ones probably affect the south-west and Scotland, whereas locally temperatures could reach 24C (75F), hot weather charts from Net Weather have revealed. Today’s forecast on Weather Outlook said: “There will be warm periods but also showers which could be thundery. [contfnewc] [contfnewc] “The heaviest ones probably affect the south-west and Scotland. “Locally temperatures could reach 24C (75F).” According to the Met Office, across the UK there will be cool and grey weather in the northeast with rain at times before the sun shines. With a slightly brighter spell further south and west with some sunshine but also showers. These will particularly come for north Wales and northwest England where they could be thundery. But for those living in the south-w..

UK WEATHER forecasts for the next couple of days suggest torrential rain could be possible in some parts of the UK with thunderstorms possible, while other regions could see highs of 26C. Here are the latest Met Office weather warnings, forecasts and maps. The Met Office has issued a weather warning for rain on Friday until 2pm for parts of northeast England. While the Met Office has not issued a weather warning for the weekend, the meteorological agency told Express.co.uk it was “keeping an eye” on the weather this weekend, with thundery downpours forecast for much of the UK. [contfnewc] [contfnewc] A Met Office yellow warning for rain has been issued until 2pm on Friday, affecting cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne, Middlesbrough and Scarborough. Much of the UK is expected to see heavy rain this weekend, but in between showers some areas could see patches of sunshine, with temperatures up to 26C possible. Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey told Express.co.uk: “In general weve ..

THE MET OFFICE has issued a rain warning for the UK as torrential downpours are expected to batter regions of Britain today through to Thursday, but are you likely to be affected? The Met Office has put a severe weather warning for rain in effect across Britain. The weather warning was issued on Wednesday morning and advises Britons of heavy rain which may cause some flooding and travel disruption to impacted regions. But where exactly is the warning in effect? [contfnewc] [contfnewc] The Met Office weather warning is in effect from 4pm on Wednesday until 9am on Thursday reads: “There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater and some communities could be cut off by flooded roads. “There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings “Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer and may lead to some road closures. “Where flooding occurs, there is a chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus ser..

HOT weather could soon be making a return after thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to batter the UK. Here are the latest weather forecasts, maps and charts. This week the UK is forecast to see a return to “unsettled” weather, according to the Met Office. However, the warm weather the country witnessed in May could soon be making an appearance. WXCHARTS maps, which use weather data from MetDesk, show some parts of the UK could see temperatures as high as 25C next week. [contfnewc] Netweather forecasts suggest high pressure will provide a more settled start to this week than the UK experienced over the weekend. However, a low pressure system will lead to a “more showery picture by midweek”, along with the risk of “heavy thundery downpours”. The Netweather forecast for later this week states: “Wednesday will be a cool unsettled day with outbreaks of rain. Early in the day, these will be sharp over Scotland. “A dig of cool north to NW air will keep temperatures down for Northe..