Why Manchester’s weather has been so weird

Let’s have a look at the science between heatwaves, and why they are often followed by periods of intense rainfall.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to Manchester World, my name's Theo Custon-Bett and I feel like I've been starting

00:03off these videos for a while by commenting on how nice the weather is, although it might not

00:06be immediately apparent right now, but it occurred to me it might not be obvious why we have heat

00:11waves in the summer and why, as we saw on Sunday, they're usually followed by sudden bursts of

00:15intense rainfall. So let's get into it. Now heat waves occur often during the summer when high air

00:19pressure develops over an area because there are fewer clouds and more direct sunlight which means

00:23the heat is more intense and long-lasting. Global warming doesn't help, with the 10 hottest years

00:27in the UK since the late 1880s, having been since 2002. The massive use of greenhouse gases produced

00:33from burning fossil fuels such as coal or gas are trapping in heat from the sun and causing spikes

00:37in temperatures, which could have a massive bearing on the world as the years progress. The reason it

00:41rains so quickly after a heat wave is because of all the moisture in the air. I'm sure many of you

00:45will remember that when water boils it evaporates and becomes a gas, so when it's hotter for longer

00:49more moisture enters the air and that can be why it sort of feels so humid. Eventually the moisture in

00:54the air reaches a point that means rainfall is necessary and you usually have intense bursts of

00:58rain which sometimes can cause flooding or damage. Finally let's talk about a misconception often

01:02heard from Americans. Now if you go online you'll often see some Americans taking the mick out of

01:06our complaints as to how hot it is outside. They'll throw around some big numbers and think that explains

01:11everything away. Their argument is invalid for a number of reasons. Firstly Britain's much more humid than

01:15the US which makes our heat more uncomfortable and less manageable. Secondly our houses are built to

01:19retain heat with thick insulation, double glazed window and brick walls. The UK has been built around

01:24protecting from the cold rather than the heat. We also don't have air conditioning. Finally 94% of

01:28Brits have been to other countries often that have a drier climate and so have some other heat to

01:32compare to whereas 40% of Americans have never left their country so can say anything really with

01:37confidence without having experienced different types of heat. So there you have it remember to get

01:41some sun cream on this week and enjoy the nice weather.