Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Jonathan Watts

Britain’s tropical rain and parched Amazon are new norms in a messed-up climate

A Ford Fiesta car stuck in flood water under a railway bridge in Slough earlier this week
Suburban floods, floating Ford Fiestas, cancelled football games and other disruptions to humdrum routines are only just beginning for the middle-class in rich countries. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Returning to British suburbia from the Brazilian Amazon is always disconcerting, but it has been doubly weird in the past few days because the London commuter belt has been inundated with volumes of rain that normally belong in the tropics.

Mini-tornadoes, flash floods and the dumping of a month’s worth of rain in a single day have flooded transport hubs, high street pubs, and the shrubs of semidetached homes.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.