A leading weather and climate expert from Wokingham has a top new job – heading up the European Meteorological Society.
Professor Liz Bentley of Hurst, who is a visiting professor at University of Reading, will be the European society’s first woman president.
Her appointment comes as the world battles to meet net zero carbon emissions, temperatures climb and wildfires increase.
One of her great skills is telling people the facts about climate change.
“It is important people are aware and they can then make their own decision if they wish to change [their carbon footprint] or not,” she says.
Last month, as extreme temperatures roasted southern Europe causing wildfires, she told Wokingham Today that thousands could die as a result, saying: “Temperatures across Spain, Italy and Greece have reached the mid to high 40s in Celsius, with Tunisia peaking at 49°C…
“This is deadly heat … in last summer’s European heatwave there were an additional 61,000 deaths due to the heat and we can expect similar numbers this year.”
Spain, Italy and Greece should be between 25-33°C in July. There were extreme heatwaves in the United States and Asia as well.
Prof Bentley, chief executive of the Reading-based Royal Meteorological Society, a charity, said: “I will become the EMS president in September, I was honoured to be asked. I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve been a meteorologist for 30 years and have spent a lot of that time communicating not only about the weather but also about climate change.
“But that has changed … from answering questions like Is climate change really happening? Or hasn’t our climate always changed?
“Now people now want to know the impact of climate change and what we can do to limit any further warming. I will certainly use my role as EMS president to continue this conversation.”
Technology will be part of the armoury for net zero, but she says “changes in our behaviour will also be needed including high-impact shifts in consumer behaviour.
“We also know that people, especially younger people, have climate anxiety. This is partly due to feeling helpless and not knowing what to do. Our training looks to address all of these issues through educating and empowering people.”
The RMetS, one of the world’s largest Met societies, supports teachers and schools, aiming for every child to leave school weather and climate literate. Everyone can access their MetMatters blog.
The society supports research scientists and weather forecasters, and provides evidence-based details to Government, advocating that policies are grounded on objective science-based evidence. Prof Bentley will continue in her RMetS and Reading University roles.
The European Society brings European meteorologists from 39 Met societies and 31 countries together to share their science and how it can be used. This ensures the information is understood and considered by policy-makers and the public. One example is the early warning systems for extreme weather events.
HOW TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
The average person in the UK has a carbon footprint of 8.5 tonnes of carbon a year.
These changes reduce your annual carbon footprint by the amount in brackets in tonnes of carbon:
- Switching to a renewable energy supplier (2.5).
- Switching from a petrol/diesel car to an electric vehicle or going car free completely (2).
- Taking one less long haul return flight a year (2). Eating a plant based diet (1)
So, says Prof Bentley, “You can see how quickly we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. It is important people are aware and they can then make their own decision if they wish to change or not.”
