Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

What's Wrong with Our Weather?

Horizon 2013-2014
Episode 12 of 12

Physicist Dr Helen Czerski and meteorologist John Hammond examine Britain's recent extreme weather and ask if future seasons will include ever harsher winters.

Our weather in Britain has become more extreme.

The winter of 2013/14 was the wettest ever recorded as deadly storms battered the country for weeks on end. But previous winters have seen bitter lows of minus 22 as Britain was plunged into a deep freeze.

Everyone wants to know why our weather is getting more extreme, whether we can expect to see more of it in the future, and if it has got anything to do with climate change.

Physicist Dr Helen Czerski and meteorologist John Hammond make sense of Britain's recent extreme weather and discover that there is one thing that connects all our recent extreme winters - the jet stream, an invisible river of air that powers along 10km above us. What's worrying is that recently it has been behaving rather strangely.

Scientists are now trying to understand what is behind these changes in the jet stream. Helen and John find out if extreme winters are something we may all have to get used to in the future.

58 minutes

Last on

Mon 12 Feb 2024 00:10
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Four

More episodes

Previous

Where is Flight MH370?2013-2014

Next

You are at the last episode

See all episodes from Horizon

Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:18

    2H10

    Meeritim

  • 00:54

    Morley, Sheehan, Wood

    Big Things

Credits

Presenter Helen Czerski
Presenter John Hammond
Producer Milla Harrison
Executive Producer Jonathan Renouf
Series Producer Zoe Heron
Editor Steve Crabtree
Editor Aidan Laverty

Broadcasts