Prof Sir David King says he’s been scared by the number of extreme events, and he called for the UK to advance its climate targets by 10 years.
But the UN’s weather chief said using words like “scared” could make young people depressed and anxious.
Campaigners argue that people won’t act unless they feel fearful.
This morning’s sky over the Yorkshire coast looked rather extreme. The contrails in Today’s Image followed the normal track of jetliners shuttling between European cities and North America. Much of the sky, however, was blanketed by lines of persistent vapour on the kind of headings passenger-carrying aircraft don’t usually take. I might have kept my geoengineering thoughts to myself if I hadn’t been triggered by a comment attached to today’s UK Column news bulletin.
It was probably a coincidence that Prof. King aired his fears on the morning after a night of geoengineering but, just as rising global temperatures make extreme weather events more likely, so will the mainstream media project raise the output of climate stories and offer more opportunities for climate scientists to put the wind up the populace.
