25/03/2016 Weather World

so we have annihilated your nihilistic beliefs. Now it is time

for where the world. Nick Miller looks back at three months of

extreme weather around the world. Welcome to whether world, our latest

look at the weather making news and the science behind it. Coming up,

flooded Britain, the damage. The destruction. As record rain and

raging rivers sweep through towns and cities, the battle to recover

and repair. The only way to bring this equipment in is by the year.

This stretch of the River, all along the roads are extensively cut off.

Windsor white out, record snow as blizzards smother some of the US's

biggest cities. The advices find a safe place and stay there. Europe's

migrant crisis goes on through winter's call this month.

TRANSLATION: We're on a of death. We can endure. I'm worried about the

children. Also in the next half-hour, direct it, the most

powerful cyclone on record to strike Fiji. Arctic deepfreeze, find out

what is inside the safest place on earth. From one end of the Earth to

another, three decades on, Peter gives revisits the weatherman's most

southerly workplace. After two weeks it's the, finally we have reached

our objective, Antarctica. I am in the historic city of York,

one place it by flooding during the UK's second wettest winter. Just

happens to be where I was born. In the next half-hour personal tour of

a city on the flooding front line. This is how it does a couple of

months ago. Only from the air you can fully appreciate the expense of

ground covered by the floods in New York. It is from the air health was

being flown in. The RAF delivering machinery to repair a flood barrier.

The to bring the equipment in is by the air. All along this stretch of

the River Foss, the roads are extensively cut off. All they do is

stranded in their homes have been ferried to safety. By boat or

piggyback. The job to get absolutely every bone delete -- everyone to dry

ground. Thousands of homes were without power after widespread

flooding. It came from the Christmas storm that drenched the hills of

northern England. The force of the floodwater was stronger here. This

200 years old former pub on a bridge collapsed, crumbling into the water.

In the Yorkshire town of Tadcaster, this 18th century bridge finally

meets a flood it cannot withstand. The collapse cutting the town in

two. Flooding is also it southern parts of the USA. Scenes from

sexist, the record river levels reported in Louisiana and

Mississippi. In South America, flood striking several countries,

including the route, where intense rain transformed rivers into raging

torrents. It sometimes rains only righted -- rains in the United Arab

Emirates, but you rarely see pictures. According to reports,

publishing pictures of this could be punishable by the country's cyber

crime laws. Back in York, as with any flood, the waters recede, but

the mess left behind can take months to clear and repair. Then there is

always the thought, will it happen again? York is getting back to

normal, the river has gone down. The history of York is one that goes

hand-in-hand with flooding. Somebody who knows all about that is Doctor

Mark White and from the University of York. Why is York so prone to

flooding? This river is 60 metres wide, it was about twice the width

in Roman times. More space for the water to flow. The river could

spread out within the channel over the flood plain. Since then over the

last 2000 years the banks of the River have been built in words, into

the channel, into the river flood plain. Built up with buildings, very

cleverly densely built. As you can see. This is happier flecked -- this

has had the effect of restricting the River, the only way the

floodwaters kendo is up, resulting in flooding that we saw a couple of

months ago. There is a man-made element to this. Other examples in

other parts of the world? This is a widespread phenomenon. The most

severe example was the tragic flooding in Florence, in northern

Italy, in 1966, causing the loss of about 100 lives. 5000 families

having to be rehoused. Severe damage to the city's artistic heritage.

Similar phenomenon. The river flowing down from the man thins,

through a constricted river channel. The Renaissance city of Florence

having been built out to where the river had formally flowed. In that

case the consequences were severe and tragic. Thank you very much.

Talking about the UK's wet winter, also very mild. Not the case

everywhere. If you look hard enough you can find proper winter weather.

A massive blizzard takes aim at 75 million Americans. In the middle of

the USA's warmest winter on record, a massive blizzard hitting the North

East, paralysing the country's biggest cities. Here we are 24-hour

whizzing, this is the nation's capital on a busy Saturday

afternoon, or it should be. The roads have been abandoned, 13 inches

of snow have fallen overnight. We are inspecting a further ten inches

over the next few hours. Many more hours of this storm still to come.

In New York, a record, the most snowy day. The storm dumped 68

centimetres in total. In Washington, DC, a white out at the White House.

A snowstorm to rival or lovers. In Europe, the arrival of winter's

Gulbis months to their toll on migrants seeking shelter in camps in

the Balkans. This man has travelled from Syria. He is cold, exhausted

and suffering from a painful chest infection. Despite the cold

conditions, or maybe because of them, people are determined to

continue the journey further north. Around two: that is Serbia. As you

can see, this little boy trying to make the journey now, the ground is

icy, the journey is even more treacherous in these conditions.

This family has travelled around 2000 kilometres from Syria.

TRANSLATION: We're on a journey of death, he tells me. We can endure,

but I'm worried about the children. The cold, disease. Winter has not

them the flow of people reaching Europe. The United Nations saying

more than 130,000 people arrived by sea ingest the first two months of

the year. In China, what looks like winter's date is far from it. The

first snow in almost 70 years in this province. Cold air unusually

sweeping south. For many the freezing weather, and the chance to

touch snow was a novelty. TRANSLATION: Never seen snowfall

there, as a native Cantonese. Excited to see it, sorry it lasted

for only 20 minutes. Snow sweeping innerspring began in the UK. The

warm winter relenting, providing a challenge for motorists, more used

to driving through floods than frozen water. Finally, from the

snow, the best video you will see they risk real hunting for not in

Estonia. Developments in the Pacific as I speak. In February, Fiji

bracing for a direct hit from Winston. The strongest cyclone ever

to make landfall. Fiji is no stranger to cyclones, not like this.

Winston is thought to be amongst the biggest storms ever recorded in the

southern hemisphere. Winds gusting up to 325 kilometres per hour.

Causing widespread damage. Emergency services will focus on trying to

reach Morimoto areas. Aerial video soon after the storm passed revealed

the extent of the destruction. Entire communities flattened, the

death toll rising to more than 40 people, with thousands homeless. A

storm like that cycling could come and go in a matter of hours, the

mess left behind could take months to clean up. As we heard in York,

many storms there are many floods, for businesses close to the river,

they have had to clear up many times, like this. You are the

landlord, nice to see you. You have been a quite a while, seen a lot of

floods. 29 years, since 1987, numerous floods will stop every time

you flood, you do something extra to make yourself a bit more flood

resilient, rebuilding better and better? This time, what we have

done, we have put stone floors down, making the bar out of bricks. We

have got rid of all the wood from the columns. Just basically to make

us more flood resistant. You have got rid of the wood. I can spot a

wooden floor. That is there to break the pub up, give it a bit of

character. We don't monitor look like prison cell. Basically to give

it a bit of character. It is historic York? After rule. You have

to attract the punters. Something else I have noticed, you have pub

furniture, looks like it is anchored in place, you can move it to safety?

We have built the seating in, making them out of bricks. For the seating

areas, they will come out in sections. We can get it out, moved

upstairs. When the water is here, how to get rid of it? We have a lot

of pumps, we have invested a lot of money. As long as the Electric is

on, we can pump it out fairly quickly. The problem is the mess

that is left behind? The big problem, not just the river water,

which makes a hell of a mess. It is the drains, the sewerage, things

like that. A big clean-up operation. All behind you now. Back open, best

of luck for a busy summer season. That is it from York for now. Back

later in the programme to look at some new thinking on natural flood

defences. Now he was a look at some of your pictures from flooded

Britain after another winter. While storm clouds became the norm

overwinter, these snake Reus, or mother of pearl clothes, made a rare

appearance, as spotted by BBC Weather Watchers in February. They

are funded ice crystals within the very cold stratosphere, normally in

the skies above polar regions, and a very unusual in the skies above the

UK. Still to come... El Nino, droughts,

and hairy panic down under. An invasion of Australian tumbleweed.

The UK's wet winter provided some memorable images, but few as

dramatic as this from the Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge, an empty bus

swept downstream by the raging floodwaters.

This is that very spot. Fraser, you are from the Environment Agency, you

grew up around here and know the area well, the speed and force of

that blood was incredible? It was. The Boxing Day Flood will certainly

not be forgotten. We had an incredible amount of rainfall, all

of the rain gauges, the river gauges, exceeded all the records.

You can see some of the damage that happened that morning from the force

of the water. If you look around where we are, we are surrounded by

hills, which must lend itself to the rapid response that you see here? We

call the other Calder Valley a rapid response catchment, the water runs

off rapidly into streams and villages, funnelled down to the

bottom of the valley, causing the river to rise rapidly. As we saw on

Boxing Day, the rivers could not cope with it. That is different to

how yorker floods? Available York, some of those areas are slow

responding to the rainfall, then lots of time for preparation in

advance of the flood. The opposite is the case here, which is why we

have things like the flood sirens to provide an early warning. Weather a

York flood or a Hebden Bridge rapid flood, people have to clear up and

rebuild, and many people here are still doing that. Is has started

moving. Loads. The devastating floods came as the UK was battered

by storm after storm, partly because of the global weather phenomenon El

Nino, which also lifted global temperatures to new heights as 2015

is confirmed as the hottest year on record. Areas shown in red or orange

were warmer than average last year, the record heat has continued into

20 Dean. Although some areas have been warm and wet, others have

become exceptionally dry. Severe drought conditions are expanding

across southern and eastern Africa, billions face food shortages and are

becoming reliant on foreign aid as crops fail. Their cattle are their

life savings. Much valued, fiercely protected. Here at the only well

still flowing in many miles, the investment is only just being kept

alive. Not one that two rains have failed, and with a El Nino

threatening to prolong the drought, the cattle herders are getting

desperate. TRANSLATION: The worst drought to heads about way in three

decades. A quarter of the country's population faces food shortages.

President Robert Mugabe declared a state of disaster, paving the way

for international donors to help out. TRANSLATION: This is getting

worse. My cattle are dying. If the situation does not change, we will

also die. I will be forced to sell all of my cattle to feed my family.

There have been downpours in recent days, bringing relief in some areas

where farmers are still hoping for modest harvests, but the sparse

rainfall patterns may do very little to alleviate the current situation.

In Australia, a record warm start to summer in Tasmania sparked

bushfires, devastating a world Heritage area with trees more than

1000 years old. And this could be one of the more bizarre side of El

Nino, dry, hot weather in the Australian state of the Tory leads

to hairy panic, the local name for a fast-growing tumbleweed blowing into

this town just as quickly as it can be cleared away. Back in York,

talking about flooding, Professor Colin Brown from the University of

York joins me. Flood defences, where are we? We are just to the north of

the city. This is like a huge reservoir. There is a sluice gate a

couple of: it is up the road. When the river rises and floats, it is

then trapped inside this natural reservoir, natural wash land area,

we keep the weather until the flood subsides and we open the sluice gate

which will let the river water back into the river. You can see the

heights we can accommodate. Man-made, engineered, concrete, but

you are interested not in what goes on here but more in where the rain

falls in the hills, holding some of it there? There is a limit to the

storage we can get near to towns and cities. If we can work in rural

areas at the top of the catchment, work with landowners and farmers to

get natural structures into slow the water, that will help a great deal.

You have a project on the go trailing that? We are working in

Leicestershire on a water friendly farming project, we are looking into

putting the key dams into streams, the strictures hold the water back

for a day or two, it can have a huge effect in reducing the peak flows

that we expose towns and cities to. Colin, thank you showing me around

and good luck with the project. Weather extremes forces to make

decisions about how protect ourselves, but what if the food we

need to survivors under threat? Somebody has thought about that,

David Shukman went to see them in the Arctic.

In the punishing cold of an Arctic mountain in the remote Svalbard

island is a doorway to what is meant to be the safest place on earth.

Scientists are on their way, approaching through this isolated

and hostile to rain. I am with them as they carry a precious cargo of

seeds to be kept out of the way of whatever climate change might bring.

How often do you get these deliveries? Three times a year. The

box of seeds is about to go through the first line of security. There

are half a dozen in all. I have just condemned the access tunnel which

cuts into the mountain here. This place is 130 metres above sea level

because, if the worst happens and global warming melts all of the

polar ice caps, this project will still be safe. The last barrier to

the store itself. Inside here, it is -18 Celsius. The rows of shelves are

filling up with seeds from all over the world. There are samples of

nearly half of the most important food crops, brought here just in

case. So in these Ramon 's mountains, this place is meant to be

a safeguard against Apocalypse, an insurance policy for a warming

world. And now from the top of the planet to the bottom, Antarctica.

BBC meteorologist Peter Gibbs worked there in 1980 at a British research

station which discovered the hole in the ozone layer. A few months ago,

he returned. I want to show you what a huge

effect this great big white reflective surface has on the sky

above. Notice how the clouds are looking really, really white, it is

all the lights bouncing back and forth between the snow surface and

the clouds, it is called ice blink. Look at the sky over the open sea,

look at how much darker it is. The light coming in from the cloud is

being absorbed by the dark sea surface, which is called a water

sky. This is something used by Mariners before the days of

satellites and helicopters if they were stuck in ice, they could see

dark sky beyond and knew there was open water so they could try to work

their way towards that. The surgery is on the right, we are

moving to the main dining room and lounge area.

It is mid-morning, everybody ravenously hungry as they come in

from working outside. Grabbing a bit of grub. Then back to

it. A big, deep rest, we are going

outside through these heavy airlock to type doors. Hello, thanks very

much. Through another one of these big,

heavy doors, now we will go upstairs to the best view here. It is the Met

Office observation deck. We get a panoramic view of the ice shelf.

Today it is cloud covered. Finally, in one corner, the machine that

discovered the ozone hole. And that was here when I was here over 30

years ago. Finally from Antarctica, a very

special sky view as the ice station is illuminated by the Aurora

australis, or Southern lights. It was their northern hemisphere

cousins, the aurora borealis, or Northern lights, putting on a

spectacular show over Britain in March.

Yes, when you are snowed under, this is the first thing you want to do! A

craze of snow swimming hits the USA during the January blizzard.

But trust an animal to steal the show. A giant panda at the National

zoo in Washington, DC in pressed with his views you stick backstroke.

We are back on the boat in York, a city which has had a difficult

winter because of the flooding but is gearing up for the summer season.

Millions come to visit from all over the world. Lynn from York Boat Tours

joins me now. Most attractions are open from now until the end of

November. Have a great summer. That is it from Weather World. We

will be back in the summer but, until then, keep checking the

forecast.