Afternoon:
8°c
Big freeze set to continue
7 Jan 2009- Inflation rate lowest for 14 months
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Britain's big freeze has intensified as forecasters warned temperatures would continue to plunge.
Tens of thousands of motorists were left stranded in a record day for car breakdowns amid chaotic scenes on the roads as temperatures in parts of the country dropped to as low as minus 11C (12.2F).
In central London, shivering tourists witnessed the unusual sight of the fountains in Trafalgar Square frozen.
With areas of southern England and Wales set to get colder overnight, heating bill payouts to pensioners and the vulnerable topped £100 million as the Government stepped in to help.
Many schools failed to reopen after the Christmas break and the cold snap also caused havoc for homes and businesses which suffered frozen pipes. Water company Severn Trent warned its eight million customers across the Midlands and Wales to protect their water systems after reports pipes were freezing even with heating on full.
The AA and RAC said the situation was worse than it had been since 2004, with an estimated 50,000 call-outs over the previous two days. In perilous conditions on the roads, there were a string of road accidents.
Among the victims of perilous driving conditions was a woman cyclist who sustained serious injuries when she was run over by a Land Rover which skidded on ice in Clevedon, Somerset.
In Dorset, a man escaped injury after his BMW 325 convertible spun off the road and hit a telegraph pole near Bournemouth International Airport.
Daniel Adamson, a forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said Wales and southern England - including London and the South Coast - could yet face its coldest period.
He said: "It is unusual that the far south could be facing temperatures as low as minus 10C."
Reader views (8)
What happened to global warming? I don`t believe in this anyway. The earth`s weather has always gone in cycles, i,e. extra warm periods and extra cold. It`s quite normal if you look back in history.
- Mrs, Carole Brown, Conwy, North Wales, 07/01/2009 00:36
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Come on..lets have some proper winter England...
here in the tropical is too hot 45 dg... today and yestarday it was about 5o...
- Hernan Perez-Rodriguez, Margarita Island - Venezuela, 06/01/2009 21:12
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- to Sukh, Ilford.
You are quite right the Gulf stream does control our weather. If polar melting continues the 'heavier' additional cold water forces the warm Gulf Stream further south, this results in cooler temperatures around the UK, particularly in the winter. But the global warming facists keep insisting that the phenomena of global warming will cause hot dry unbearable summers with warm wet winters. Both arguments cannot be right. That is why there is so much scepticism about the whole subject.
- Pat, Croydon Uk, 06/01/2009 20:57
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I’m a Brit working in Canada and I just can’t believe the difference between the UK and here. We, here in Canada, have had weeks of sub zero temperatures, a few days ago it was –30C, with a fair amount more snow than 1 - 2cm and guess what, no one missed work, the schools were open, the car started, life went on as normal. Why is winter always such a surprise in the UK every year?
- Jim, Edmonton, Canada, 06/01/2009 19:55
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Haskey, read about the gulf stream, and how that will change with global warming, meaning the UK will get colder! Look at the Weather in Moscow and many parts of Canada who are on a similar latitude
- Sukh, Ilford, 06/01/2009 16:40
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Isn't an emergency call out the one and only key reason why people join motoring organisations. Makes me wonder what these organisations do all day when things are normal?
Ah-Of course--they incur big time profits if members find they have no call for their services during their membership year .
- William Grierson, kIMPTON-uk, 06/01/2009 16:30
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So what is the problem, years ago it used to be like this for weeks and a dam sight healthier we were for it, lets have some proper winter back please.
And lovely hot summers.
- Col, West London, 06/01/2009 11:13
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So it's all down to Global Warming, then eh? Remind me to turn off the radiators......
- Haskey, London SE1, 06/01/2009 09:27
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