we have to be aware of what the weather conditions are notjust here at coningsby but across the uk and europe and we ve been particularly concerned about thunderstorms, if any areas were particularly cloudy, which might make it difficult for us to intercept other aircraft. it s notjust modern day aircraft in operation here, it s home to the battle of britain memorial flight and these priceless artefacts are kept in airworthy condition and can be seen in the skies above all sorts of events during the summer keeping their rich history alive. and here we are in the hangar of the battle of britain memorial flight. behind me just one of only two operational lancaster bombers in the world and it is here with other aircraft and in charge of them is squadron leader mark sugden. thank you for having us here, amazing. we were with the station commander earlier chatting about the typhoons and their technology but this is a historic aircraft so what sort of weather requirements do you have? we fly
in the uk ever recorded was the summer, 40.3 celsius. behind me are some typhoon aircraft based here but what impact does the temperatures have on operations? joining me, the station commander group captain billy cooper. let s go back to that day injuly. what sort of impact does the temperatures have on coningsby? any extremes of weather and particularly temperature can have an effect even on modern aircraft. in particular the engine performance, and very high altitude or temperature. we find the density of the fuel will change so the way in which the maintainers operate with the aircraft can be different. at coningsby you have the quick reaction alert squadron who have to be up in the air at a moments notice what sort of weather impacts do look at?
in october on crete, cars swept into the sea by a powerful flood that locals say caught them by surprise, also at night, after a day of rain. brazil endured severe storms that caused deadly flash flooding. this is the aftermath of a landslide that swept onto a motorway in early december and in patroclus in february, over 200 people died in a catastrophic mudslide that followed several hours of torrential rain. still to come, the science behind storm surges. welcome back to raf coningsby. this base has a special place in my heart, it is where i started forecasting and it is the place with the highest temperature
and tents are for people in pakistan, still homeless after a devastating flood. i will report on the biggest storms of the year and look at what happened after weather disasters strike. i am at raf coningsby, not only a place close to my heart in that it is where i began my broadcasting career, but to british meteorology, this july at this stevenson screen, we recorded the uk highest temperature of 40.3 celsius. it has been a day of record breaking temperatures across the uk. more than a0 celsius for the first time. july the 19th, the uk s hottest day and as temperatures soared
product and show them those as well. more to come from coningsby later when i speak to pilots of aircraft new and old to see how heat and extreme weather effects operations. that new record of 40.3 is a significant moment in weather history. but every temperature reading, every weather observation plays its part in our understanding of how the climate is changing and that is why i am here at the national meteorological archive in exeter. it is home to daily uk weather reports from 1860 up to the present day, among a vast collection of data that makes up one of the most comprehensive meteorological collections in the world. i am joined by mike, a climate information scientist and we are amongst this huge collection of historical data. looking at the oldest weather observations, thinking about temperature,