Of murdering five people in an explosion which destroyed a shop and a flat in leicester. The three planned the blast in february, so they could make an insurance claim. 0ur correspondent Kathryn Stanczyszyn reports. A massive explosion shatters a quiet sunday evening. Shortly after 7pm on the 25th of february, this building, on one of leicesters main roads, was completely destroyed, leaving five dead. Mary ragoobeer, two of her teenage sons sean and shane, and his girlfriend, leah reek, had been spending an evening together in their flat. The light went out of our world on that terrible night, and it is so difficult to put into words how much we miss leah. She was an amazing, inspirational young lady, who was just starting out on her life adventure. Leah made a lasting impression on everybody lucky enough to know her. She was beautiful inside and out and she truly shone when she entered a room. She was never aware of the impact that she had on so many just by smiling at them. We will always miss that smile, her laughter and those beautiful curls. Also killed in the polish store below it shop worker 22 year old viktorija ijevleva. Shed been conspiring with three men hawkar hassan, arkan ali and aram kurd. They deliberately caused the fire as part of a fraudulent insurance claim, hoping to make at least £300,000. This cctv footage shows them buying more than 20 litres of petrol the day before the explosion. They also bought other Flammable Materials to intensify the fire. I think there was clearly the element of planning, the greed, financial gain took over from anything else, and they were callous, really, as to whether human life was affected by what they did. Aram kurd ran the polish supermarket. Prior to the explosion, he moved the cctv camera outside the shop, to obscure the view. Here he is at the scene, just seconds afterwards. Hed been in the basement when it happened, then an hour later, talking to police. Just go through, then, how it all come about. I dont want to talk about it. The bbc spoke to him the day afterwards, when it was unclear he was responsible. And how are you feeling at the moment . I dont know how to tell you. Never, i feel how i am now. This was a cynically planned fraud with deadly consequences the threat to peoples lives callously disregarded. Kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news, leicester. 0ur correpondent Kathryn Stanczyszyn is in leicester. You are at the scene of the explosion. What sort of impact as it had on the area . We can see some floral tributes behind you. Well, you can only imagine what that explosion was like on that night on the 25th of february. It was at a shopjust behind me on the 25th of february. It was at a shop just behind me on this quite busy road, in and out of leicester. The explosion ripped through the building, literally destroying the entire building and the flat above and the polish supermarket beneath. People describe it as if a bomb had gone off, thats what people believed happened. But it was a fire deliberately started by these three men in order to try and profit from an insurance claim. Five people lost their lives. There are still memorials here on hinckley road to the members of the ragoobeerfamily, mary and her two sons, shane and sean, and cleirigh, and also viktorija sean, and cleirigh, and also vi ktorija ijevleva, sean, and cleirigh, and also viktorija ijevleva, who was in on it with the men, conspiring to make £300,000. We heard thejury being told it was murder in all three cases and we heard how aram kurd had told a fellow prisoner while on remand that he had wanted to kill people because he believed that they would get more money. It was a coldly planned crime. It was a cynical crime. Its been a long and arduous six week trial for the families. The three men will be sentenced next month. Thank you. The music and film retailer hmv is going into administration. The store has been struggling with competition from online retailers and streaming services. Its the second time in five years that hmv has hit serious financial trouble in 2013 it was rescued and restructured. Our Business Correspondent theo leggett has the details. Hmv is one of the oldest and best known names on the british high street, but now the future of more than 120 stores and 2,200 employees is looking deeply uncertain. Founded in the 1920s, it grew to become a retail giant, selling music, videos and computer games. But now, like other Traditional Store chains, its struggling to cope with growing competition from online retailers. But that isnt the only problem hmv is facing. It still has a large number of physical stores like this one on the high street but, increasingly, consumers are moving online. And thats not the only issue. Streaming services are becoming more and more popular, which means many consumers dont even bother to buy dvds or cds any more. This has already been a dreadful year for Traditional Store chains. Big names such as toys r us, maplin and poundworld have disappeared, while others have closed shops. And in this harsh environment, hmv is struggling to sell its products. With netflix or spotify, i dont ever buy anything. No, i dont buy any, i download everything. Very rarely. I stream, of course. And, quite honestly, they clutter up the house. So, no. This isnt the first time hmvs been in trouble. It went into administration back in 2013, before being bought by its current owner, hilco. This time, however, a rescue might be more difficult. I dont think there is a future for this business as a going concern with the current amount of stores that it holds. Another investor could come in, maybe keep that hmv brand with a much smaller store estate and manage to run that for a number of years but i think thats the most optimistic outcome we can expect. Whatever happens to hmv itself, the chill economic wind blowing down the high street means its unlikely to be the last major retailer to feel the cold, in what may well be a bleak new year. Theo leggett, bbc news. The government is facing calls to step up patrols in the English Channel, after a rise in the number of migrants trying to make the journey from france over the christmas period. More than 70 people have reached the uk in the past three days, including 12 this morning. Butjust one of the five boats operated by the border force is currently patrolling the channel. In the last hour, the home secretary sajid javid has declared the rising number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel a Major Incident. He also said he has taken control of the response to that rising number of migrants, saying hes intervened to make sure Everything Possible is being done to disrupt and prosecute organised gangs who are trying to sell journeys across the organised gangs who are trying to selljourneys across the channel to these migrants. Anisa kadri reports. On a mission for a better life, they risk their lives crossing the busiest shipping lane in the world. More than 70 migrants have arrived over the last few days, in small boats. Now the governments facing calls to step up patrols in the channel. One of five cutters run by the border force is patrolling the area, but some, including the former head of the force, want more resources in place to help migrants and prevent any deaths. We do need more patrols and we need more coordinated activity between the border force and other agencies. There is about 16 different agencies that have an interest in our coastal defences and i would like to see coordination between those agencies to ensure that we are making the best use of the resources that we have right across the piece, to intercept these vessels as early as possible, in the process, and preferably before they leave france in the first place. The government says deployments are under constant review, but its concerned that increasing patrols could encourage more migrants to try to reach the uk from france. 23 migrants reached kent on thursday. Thats in addition to a0 on christmas day. Today, 12 have been brought ashore in dover, of iranian and syrian origin. The mild weather is one of the potential reasons for the surge in arrivals. Another possible reason is brexit, with people smugglers understood to be telling migrants that borders will become more difficult to cross when britain leaves the eu. Well, really, what we need to do is to stop people making these journeys in the first place. So, more patrol boats is part of the answer, but its also having the resources on the ground we need, working in partnership with the french to identify the gangs, to stop them making the crossings in the first place. Many of these migrants have escaped difficult circumstances, but the worry is that if these journeys continue, its only a matter of time before there are fatalities. Anisa kadri, bbc news. More prisoners will be allowed to make phone calls from their cells under government plans to tackle violence and re offending. Currently 20 prisons in england and wales have phones inside cells, and they re closely monitored and can only call pre approved numbers. £10 million will be spent extending the scheme to 50 prisons by early 2020. John mcmanus reports. For years, the authorities have struggled to stop illicit mobile phones making their way into prisons. Along with drugs, they are big business behind bars because they allow some offenders to maintain contact with criminal associates. Some gangs have resorted to using drones to deliver them over prison walls. Stamping out their use has been a priority. Hello. But now, the government says that thousands of prisoners will, in future, be able to make calls on landlines from their own cells. The scheme has already been tried at 20 prisons in england and wales, like here, at 0akwood prison. That number will rise to 50 by march 2020. The government says its vital that prisoners maintain contact with those most able to support their rehabilitation theirfamilies. One of the things that helps reduce re offending is maintaining family ties. And i think it is really important that we allow prisoners the opportunity to maintain those family ties, maintain links with their loved ones, because when they are released, those relationships are going to be really important in keeping them on the straight and narrow. But the idea of making prison life more comfortable has been criticised by the conservative mp and former Shadow Home Affairs minister andrew rosindell, who tweeted he thought the idea of being sent to jail was to punish criminals and take away their freedom and creature comforts. His comments, though, have been challenged by the prison governors association. We would disagree with prison being a place of punishment. The fact that you are sent to prison is the punishment. We shouldnt further punish people whilst in prison. 0ur role is to reduce re offending, so that when they go back into the community, theyre able to integrate and there is less chance of them re offending. The Authorities Say that prisoners will only be able to call a few approved numbers, and conversations can be monitored at any time. Its hoped that violence within prisons will also fall a problem the governments been struggling with. John mcmanus, bbc news. The number of illegal knives seized at the uks borders has more than doubled in a year. Official figures show officers took possesion of more than 7,600 blades during the 12 months to september. It comes as knife crime in england and wales reaches an eight year high. Lifeboat crew in cornwall say a fisherman who fell overboard near newlyn whilst adjusting his nets has been amazingly lucky to survive. Nathan rogers managed to cling onto his nets forfive miles, while the boat took him back to shore on autopilot. He was treated for severe hypothermia and is now recovering at home. Its been confirmed that two british women and a baby were killed when the 4x4 they were travelling in crashed off a bridge in iceland. The vehicle was carrying two brothers who were touring the country with their families, including two children aged seven and nine. Four other british people in the vehicle were critically injured, as ben ando reports. The two families were in a toyota land cruiser, which crashed through railings and fell around 20 feet onto a dry riverbed below. First on the scene were the police and a local tour guide, who did all he could to help. I tried to talk a bit to the driver to calm him down. He was trapped inside the car. I was trying to tell him to save his energy and try to be patient, we will try to get him out of there. It was a very difficult situation. Two adults and a child died at the scene. Four others, including two children aged seven and nine, were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition. Translation it was immediately clear that this was a very serious accident. A car had careered off the bridge, so immediately all available responders and resources were mobilised. Its understood that those involved come from two families and are british nationals of whats being described as indian origin. Foreign Office Officials are assisting icelandic authorities, but the indian ambassador to iceland visited the hospital, where four survivors, two men and two children, are being treated, and spoke to doctors and nurses there. The bridge is a single track and is on the south east section icelands National Ring road, in an area known for its spectacular waterfalls, volcanoes and glaciers. This morning, investigations into the cause will continue. Though icelandic media reports that this bridge is a known accident danger spot and does not meet the latest safety standards. The headlines on bbc news. Three men have been found guilty of the murder of five people who died after an explosion in a shop in leicester in february. The music retailer hmv is being put into administration, placing more than 2,000 jobs at risk. After a surge in the number of migrants crossing from france calls to step up patrols in the English Channel. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres tulsen tollet. 0le Gunnar Solksjaer has asked two of his underperforming players, Romelu Lukaku and alexis sanchez, to follow the example of paul pogba at Manchester United by stepping up their game. The new caretaker manager couldnt say if either will go straight back into the side once theyre fit, with uniteds next game in the premier league on sunday at home to bournemouth. I cannot do anything for their performances on the pitch. Paul has done it himself. Players have done their performances. My chats with anthony and romelu and alexis, im here to guide them and help them on the path and then its up to them to do it on the pitch. Arsenals former long standing chairman peter hill wood, who presided over the appointments of George Graham and arsene wenger, has died at the age of 82. He became chairman in 1982 and was instrumental in the move from highbury to the emirates stadium. He stepped down from the role five years ago because of ill health. Brendan rodgers says it might not help rangers to have restricted the amount of celtic fans at tomorrows Old Firm Derby at ibrox. The scottish premiership leaders will have just 750 fans after their allocation was cut from the normal 7,000, but rodgers claims that could backfire on their rivals. It can work for and against you as a home team, in that situation. I think when you have predominantly the support in the ground, it can add something to the players, a positive or a negative. But we have to approach the game how we always do, look at our own way of working. Respect that rangers are good team. Some very good results this year. Like i say, well give them the respect they deserve and look to focus on our own respect they deserve and look to focus on oui own game respect they deserve and look to focus on our own game and look to play well and get the win. Andy murray says he still has some pain in his hip but hes in a better place in the build up to januarys Australian Open than he was at this time last year. Murray had hip surgery in january this year, but ended his return in september to recover fully for next year. The three time grand slam winner says he needs to play matches to see how it feels, starting with the brisbane international, which begins on monday. Another big innings by england wicket keeperjos buttler wasnt enough to save sydney thunder from their first defeat in this seasons big bash in australia. Buttler cleared the boundary four times on his way to 89 in the match against hobart hurricanes. His team mate and england captain joe root didnt fare so well, only managing 17 runs before he was out. Matthew wade and darcy shorts partnership of 119 was key to hurricanes seven wicket victory. England Centre Henry Slade will return after a two week absence for exeters premiership match against northampton tonight, when hell be on the replacements bench. A shoulder injury has kept him out of two games, both of which the chiefs won, including the victory over saracens last weekend that took them to the top of the table. Englands first match of the six nations is five weeks tomorrow. Thats one of two matches tonight in domestic rugby union. The other is in the pro 1a, with ulster travelling to galway to take on connacht. Theres been a shock at the pdc world darts championship with 9th seed james wade knocked out by english compatriot ryanjoyce, who won 4 3. Wade, who made the semi final stage three times in the past, had a chance to win it in the previous set when he was 3 2 up, butjoyce took the win in the decider and now goes on to face favourite Michael Van Gerwen in the last eight. Slovenian skier klemen kosi was airlifted to hospital by helicopter after a spectacular crash in a world cup downhill event in italy earlier today. Kosi lost control toward the end of the course and tumbled through two layers of safety netting before coming to a stop. His skis flew into the air as he hit the nets and he was taken to hospital for treatment via helicopter, but did retain consciousness throughout. A nasty way to finish but hopefully hell be ok. That looks so painful, i hope he recovers. A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, after arriving on an inbound flight at luton airport. The 32 year old is in custody at a Bedfordshire Police station, on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. Police say his arrest is related to syria, and not to do with any offences at luton airport. The investigation is being led by the metropolitan polices Counter Terror command. The United States coastguard has suspended its search for a missing british cruise ship entertainer. 20 year old arron hough from sunderland was working on the harmony of the seas. He was last seen on deck during the early hours of christmas day, but the alarm wasnt raised until nearly 10 hours later, when he failed to turn up for work. More than half a million potholes were reported by members of the public to local authorities in the uk last year, according to new research. The rac says the figure proves Road Conditions are worsening. In 0ctobers budget, the government pledged more than £400 million to tackling the problem. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. Theyre a hazard, sometimes huge, almost impossible to count. So, this is a typically damaged wheel. We see no less than six a day. Sometimes as many as ten cars a day, which are only here because of pothole damage. Just one garage, in one area. For the last two or three years it has been getting worse and worse. The scale of the problem nationwide, it must run into millions and millions in terms of the cost of damage to the road user at the moment. It is really, really scary. And today we have new figures confirming a big rise in potholes on our roads. The number of potholes reported by people in 150 local authorities in england, scotland and wales rose by a whopping 44 in two years. This guy feels potholes are his calling. He argues that Real Investment in repairing road surfaces, instead of patching potholes up, would ultimately save money. If you did a proper investment plan, changed the culture, training, contracts, supervision, the right quality of materials, 95 of potholes could be eradicated from ever appearing on our road network. The rac says councils dont have the money and the government needs to act. What we require is a long term funding mechanism whereby local authorities can plan ahead and actually deal with the specific issue of the structural defects, rather than simply filling in potholes. The government says its giving councils an extra £400 million for local road repairs this year, and funding trials to identify potential potholes so roads can be repaired before they form. Royal mail has apologised over a stamp produced to commemorate the d day landings, which actually showed us troops on a beach in asia. It was said to depict the normandy landings, but in fact was taken in what is modern day indonesia. The stamp was due to be released next year in a best of british collection. One of the worlds rarest birds has been given a new home. A british team of conservationists has released a small group of the rare ducks at a lake in the north of madagascar. As our science correspondent victoria gill reports, its the first step in the recovery of a species that was once thought to be extinct. 0n the brink of extinction. The madagascar pochard was thought to have been wiped out completely, but a tiny group of the birds was rediscovered just 12 years ago, at one remote lake. Wetland habitats here have been so polluted and damaged that the birds were forced into a last untouched area. But as pristine as it looks, this final refuge is actually too deep and too cold for the pochards to thrive. They are clinging onto existence in a place that isnt really suited to them. The threats that they face across the rest of madagascar which is why theyve been wiped out so extensively are vast and range from sedimentation, invasive species, pollution, poor agricultural practices. A whole suite of Different Things that combine to make the perfect storm that really make it hard for a species like the madagascar pochard to survive. So conservationists embarked on a painstaking rescue mission. After bringing a few birds into captivity to start a breeding programme, the researchers scoured madagascar for the best possible site to bring them back to the wild. Lake sofia, in the north of madagascar, will be the pochards new home. And for the worlds rarest birds, the team has developed an extra level of protection. Well, it might be bit of a different climate here in gloucestershire compared to madagascar, but the team at the wetlands here have been able to develop this floating aviary. The idea is, itll keep the birds safe and get them accustomed to their new lake. There they go, swimming off, swimming off. The doors to their floating aviary have now been opened and the pochards are venturing out to explore. Its a small but significant step, conservationists say, in saving one species from extinction and in protecting madagascars threatened wetlands. Victoria gill, bbc news. Police in new york have sought to reassure residents after a bright blue light illuminated the night sky over the city. Officials have explained the glow was not some otherworldly phenomenon but was caused by a transformer explosion as Rhodri Davies reports. Alien, the almighty, or apocalyptic . New yorkers were asking the question when the night sky turned blue on friday. It was freaky. It was like independence day, the movie, where you just look up and a weird blue colour that you havent seen, lighting up the clouds in the sky. It looked like something was above the clouds. It stunned residents. 0n social media, one person spoke of a vibrating noise. Another said she was shocked to the core. Some suggested the presence of ghostbusters, or extraterrestrial beings. The answer was far more down to earth. A hot electrical fire in the citys largest borough of queens in fact caused the cool blue shade that cut through the sky and disrupted some residents plans. A surge at a local electric power plant set off the small fire and the blue sparks. It couldve been, since it was an electrical fire, that it caused arcing a flash of power, so to speak. And that might have been what caused that large light. There were local outages. Some city trains were stalled and flights at one of new yorks majorairports, laguardia, were stopped for about half an hour. But there were no injuries and the City Police Department was intent on allaying any further fears, saying that the incident was the result of a transformer explosion and there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity. They will hope that that will be enough to put all suspicions to rest. Rhodri davies, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with Sarah Keith Lucas good afternoon. For much of the country, High Pressure is keeping the weather dry. Elsewhere, sunny spells and neal ardley dry theme continues into the evening hours. Clear skies over eastern scotland, eastern england. Later in the night, rain in Northern Ireland and scotland, pushing through quickly and the rain tending to fizzle out as it moves south into england. For most of us, a frost free night but there could be the odd misty and murky patch especially in the south on saturday. Spots working into the midlands. Sunshine returns to Northern England and scotland for a time. Quite a blustery day here and mild with temperatures around 11 13 on saturday. Most places staying dry with High Pressure still in charge through sunday and into new years eve on monday too but iphone out of cloud in the forecast. A fair amount of cloud. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines three men have been found guilty of the murder of five people who died after an explosion in a shop in leicester in february the music retailer hmv is being put into administration, placing more than 2,000 jobs at risk. After a surge in the number of migrants crossing from france, there are calls to step up patrols in the English Channel. New research say that potholes are getting worse more than half a million were reported for repair last year. Now on bbc news its time for a christmas edition of weather world. Nick miller and Sarah Keith Lucas report on the awesome power of wind from the destruction caused by hurricanes, to its huge potential to power the planet. On one of the windiest days of the year, weve come to one of the windiest places in the uk. Which is just as well, because this is the uks biggest onshore wind farm. So, hold onto your hats. This is weather world. We will be getting up close to find out how these Wind Turbines work, and revealing how much power they can generate on a stormy day like this. Its opposite to how a fan operates. A fan will plug into electricity and use it to generate wind. The turbines do the opposite. Also on weather world 2018s biggest storms. The floods that rage with almost unimaginable force. Cyclones so powerful they transform a coastal paradise into piles of rubble. And amid warnings of climate catastrophe to come, wildfires reach new scales of size and devastation. And im at Imperial College london, where they make their own wind to research how to keep the public safe. The wind turbine its the modern incarnation of humans attempt to harness the power of the air that blows for our own needs. The wind turbine its the modern incarnation of humans attempt to harness the power of the air that blows for our own needs. The use of this cleaner, greener Renewable Power source is expanding across the world, reaching new heights in servicing our energy demands. While the sight of these turbines is not to everyones liking, as more of them appear across the countryside and at sea, the growth goes on. The uks Wind Energy Industry estimates offshore wind Power Capacity is set to nearly double in just the next decade. When it comes to onshore wind farms in the uk, they dont come any bigger than this. Two hundred and fifteen of these turbines in an area ten miles across. We are in scotland and this is near glasgow. I tell you, every one of these turbines is going like the clappers today because its windy and, sarah, its getting windier. Thats right, the wind is strengthening during the course of our visit today and more and more power is being generated as a result. Later, we will look at how much energy has been produced during our visit, but, peter, you are the area supervisor. Is it a prime day for Energy Production . Its an excellent day. The site is pretty much running at full power, just over 530 megawatts of power. Thats enough energy to provide electricity to round about 300,000 homes. On a day like this, what sort of percentage of scotlands energy can be produced by wind power . The amount of wind power we have in scotland, there is every chance 100 of scotlands electricity could be provided. What makes the location so prime for a wind farm . Geographically, its the highest point between the coasts, so its very exposed, as you can feel from the wind, and its an ideal location to put a wind farm and maximise wind yield. Thank you. Later, peter will take me for a drive around the site to talk about the management of the turbines and to get an idea of the scale of this wind farm. And with this example of the power of wind, we start our weather review of 2018 in the netherlands, injanuary. Wind so strong it blows people off their feet. These are some of the strongest winds ever recorded here. This storm that strikes the us city of boston injanuary is dubbed a bomb cyclone, combining wind with snow and flooding and then this. As temperatures plummet, the flood freezes, entombing dozens of cars in ice. In the uk, the first day of spring looked like this. The infamous beast from the east had arrived. Snow blanketed large swathes of the british isles, giving the coldest march day on record. But if there is ever an example of keep calm and carry on. No, no . Its from this driver and her quick reactions in scotland. The big freeze covered much of europe, giving rome its biggest snowfall in decades. So, of course, that means a mass snowball fight in st peters square. The cold start to spring was soon a distant memory, as the uk went on to experience its warmest april day since 1919 and the hottest early may Holiday Weekend on record. But, by summer, a severe multi continent heatwave was under way. This is japan. Temperatures rose above 41 celsius for the first time here. And, by early august, parts of iberia are in the grip of extreme heat. This is portugal, where temperatures broke the 46 celsius mark. Back in the uk, the driest start to summer on record turns the land from green to brown. Wildfires rage on the moorland of Northern England they are some of the worst in living memory and the scale of the devastation is hard to believe. Summer 2018 goes on to become the uks joint hottest on record. But proof, as if we needed it, that the seasons are unstoppable an early snowfall smothers the hills of southern england at the end of november. When it comes to early snow, morocco takes the prize. These scenes from the end of october the first snow of the season arriving two months ahead of schedule. Im in a place where they make their own wind. Here at Imperial College london, at the department of aeronautics, they have two wind tunnels which they test regularly. Im joined by professor peter bearman, an emeritus professor here, a professor of experimental aerodynamics. This is a very large, low speed, wind tunnel which we flow around road vehicles. We look at wind energy devices, turbines, how efficient they are, and we look at flow around buildings including looking at the comfort around buildings for pedestrians, cyclists, for the effect of the wind. Its a little loud. You mention you use these to test the effects on things like vehicles, and built up areas. Yes, investigating the wind environment and how it is modified when a new building is planned to be put up. It is much better for the architect or Consulting Engineer to know at this stage, the early stage, what changes might need to be made to improve pedestrian comfort. Later in the programme, well come back and talk more about the impacts of wind on built up areas and high buildings. Peter and i are taking a drive around the wind farm. You can get a sense of the scale, how massive this wind farm is. How long has it been in operation here . Whitelee has been in operation for about ten years now, it opened officially in 2009. Currently in our tenth year of service on the turbines. Looking out at the turbines, they cover a distance of about ten miles and they are widely spaced, so why arent they closely packed together . We could pack them together but as the wind passes through the rotors and its disrupted by the blades, it causes a kind of vortex. If that vortex hits another turbine it would inhibit the production of the turbine and the turbine may actually stop for vibration. They have to be quite widely spaced in order to let the wind settle down as it passes through one rotor on to another. We had a look at the broad scale of the wind farm, now nick is about to get better acquainted with a wind turbine, taking a closer look at the details of how they operate. This is the closest ive ever been to a turbine, and the obvious thing is the size. The other thing which i hadnt realised is the sound of the blades whizzing through the air. And another thing when you see these from a distance, it seems like the blades arent going round very fast. But when you are right next to one, they whizzing through the air and you get the sense of the energy being harnessed. Fiona lindsay is a project manager here at whitelee, so bottom line these, how do they work . We are Generating Renewable Energy by taking the wind thats passing through the turbine blades, and the blades are capturing the Kinetic Energy and thats what allows them to spin and it spins round a shaft inside the cell, and a generator converts it into electrical energy, the opposite of how a fan operates. You plug a fan into electricity, and use electricity to generate wind. 0ur turbines do the opposite. And there is other kit on these turbines, too, monitoring the weather so they can work at their maximum potential. Yes, theres a wind vein that measures direction that allows the turbines to face into the wind, and theres an anemometer which allows the blades to pitch, to turn and move into the prevailing wind and get the best from the aerodynamics. And can it be too windy . Can the weather be so bad they will not work properly . It can sometimes. Its not frequent the turbines tend to be available almost 100 of the time. With some weather events, the turbines would switch off automatically but its not for a long of time, usually force 10 conditions and above. Today is usually as good as it gets. Its perfect, with 40 50 mph wind, perfect for generating renewable electricity. And well find outjust how much electricity is generated when we head to the control centre a bit later. And now, in praise of beautiful sunsets, heres a selection of your weather watcher pictures from october, when some stunning examples could be seen across the uk. As the sun sets, its light travels through a greater depth of the atmosphere. Much of its blue and green light is scattered, but not the red, and this becomes the dominant colour we see. You can become a weather watcher by signing up online. Still to come on weather world freak floods and Tropical Cyclones. More of 2018s biggest storms. And this wind tunnel can generate wind speeds of up to 100 mph. Ill be finding out how the research can help keep pedestrians safe. We are in scotland, at the uks biggest onshore wind farm, whitelee. Now weve been outside to see the turbines, weve found out how they work, and now weve come inside to where theyre monitoring the energy the turbines produce. Its the control centre, and mark is the manager here. Mark, its a good day for you, its a windy day, and youll have known about that for quite some time. Tell me about the Weather Information you get. We do. The wind is extremely important to us, its our business, and some of the models were used, we have a system we have developed with the met office and that was made a number of years ago and provides us with a 14 day bespoke Weather Forecast for all of our sites across the uk. And thats notjust for wind. Thats for rain, its for snow, for fog, many varying elements as well being used to operate our business. You can look at how much energy is generated but you can tie it down to an individual turbine. I was at turbine 55, earlier, how is that doing today . We can look on the system, turbine 55 at the moment is roughly about 70 metres per second wind, thats about 35 mph. And at the moment its producing its maximum 2. 3 watts energy that it can produce. Around 1,300 homes can be powered in a year. From that one turbine . That one turbine. Quite incredible. Everything is flat out today. We are providing some balance in services for National Grid but we have produced to the marker we are expected to. It is also wind farms across the uk are monitored from here. They monitor and control a0 wind farms from here from northern scotland to cornwall, ireland, to even off the coast of germany. In total, 1,000 Wind Turbines. Now, our weather review of 2018 continues with huge waves smashing into seafront apartments in tenerife, in the canary islands, in november. Amazingly, no one was injured. But the toll was much greater in the worst flash floods ever to hit the Spanish Island of majorca. Three times the october average rainfall came in just a few hours. 12 people were killed. In japan, historic flooding swamped large areas of the country injuly, killing around 200 people the worst flooding disaster here since 1982. Flash floods come with tremendous force. This is tunisia, in september, after what was said to be its heaviest deluge in almost 25 years. Jordan, in november, and this video capturing the moment a flash flood pours into the ancient city of petra after weeks of heavy rain in the country. This bus is no match for the sheer power of a monsoon flooded river in the indian state ofjammu and kashmir in september. In southern india, kerala is hit hard by a monsoon, with the worst flooding in a century killing hundreds. And breathtaking scenes from turkey in may. A man clings to the bonnet of a car as it is swept away after torrential rain in ankara. Several people were injured. Its been another year of intense Tropical Cyclones. This is typhoon mangkhut hitting hong kong, in september, as the most powerful ever recorded here. Fiji, in april, feeling the force of a second cyclone in as many weeks. Fijis Prime Minister says this Pacific Island nation is in a fight for survival, as Climate Change brings almost constant deadly cyclones. The atlantic Hurricane Season was dominated by two storms that hit the usa. First florence, in september, stalling over the carolinas and dumping massive amounts of rain the wettest Tropical Cyclone ever recorded in this part of the usa. Worse was to come in october. There it goes. As michael became the most powerful hurricane to hit the florida panhandle, and the fourth strongest to make landfall in the usa. There were fears it would cause catastrophic damage, but the reality of what the storm left behind was worse than could ever have been imagined. Much of what used to be the city of mexico beach is destroyed. This is a scale model of the city of london. Im back at the department of aeronautics in Imperial College london with professor peter beardman. Peter, why do designers and architects need to be concerned about the strength of the wind when they are looking at New Buildings . A number of reasons. One is is the wind going to destroy the building, have they made it Strong Enough . But the point of these quite complex models that you see here is to look at what effect the building will have on the local wind environment at street level. Is it going to make pedestrians very uncomfortable . Are they going to be blown over . What were doing in this tunnel is simulating the characteristics of the natural wind, and so the energy in the wind increases with height, so the height hitting the top of a tall, neutral building is going to be stronger than it is at lower levels. And, also, it can divert some of that wind down to ground level. We have ramped up the wind, its feeling stronger. You wouldnt normally use smoke, though, would you . No, we wouldnt normally use smoke, and we wouldnt normally be kneeling in front of the model, because were producing a lot of our own gusts here. You and i have become high rise buildings. We have. Its not recommended. How do you then monitor the strength of the wind, the gusts around these buildings . Well, we have sensors embedded in, coming through the floor of the model, and they are measuring the wind speed at the height of a typical pedestrian. Well, peter, its been fascinating being here today. Thank you so much for your time. Pre monsoon windstorms in india are an annual feature of the weather, but these in may were the worst in decades as they sweep across the north, whipping up dust after the dry months. 0ver100 people are killed. Some storms gather sand ahead of them and then roll it out over huge distances. This massive storm was caught on camera in china in november, the sand from the nearby gobi desert. Disaster in greece injuly. Strong winds caused the rapid spread of a wildfire through north east of athens. The destruction left behind reveals only some of the horror that unfolded here. More than 80 people die, many of them as they sought safety on the beach. And its been yet another year of devastating wildfires in california. Fanned by strong santa ana winds, this one in november sweeps towards the coastal homes of the rich and famous in malibu. Its the worst fire here in living memory respecting neither the beautiful setting of the homes it destroys, nor the wealth of their owners. But even this pales in comparison to this. Virtually the entire town of paradise lost to the deadliest, most destructive wildfire the state has ever known. Apocalyptic scenes that prompt a heightened debate about the impact Climate Change could be having in california. More than 80 people died here. You have to go back 100 years to find a wildfire that has killed more people in the usa. Rain to dampen the fires eventually arrived, with a number of storms going into december, but they caused flooding and bring fears of mudslides. Turn around, the flash floods right there. No one wants a repeat of this. Get out, go. The moment a mudslide hit the californian town of montecito, at the start of 2018, following major wildfires the previous month. At least 20 people died in the destruction that followed. Down under now, and a multi year drought they are calling the big dry continues in the australian state of new south wales. These scenes in august show farmers struggling to feed and water their cattle. Since then, there has been some rain, in fact, flooding from the heaviest november rain in decades in sydney. But long term rainfall deficits remain. How many of you . 13 . Brilliant. Lost for nine days, and now found. In thailand, 12 boys and their football coach are located deep within flooded caves. Setting off a race against time and the weather as monsoon rains could leave them stranded for months. Its a mission that captures the attention of the world, and one that was complete just over a week later, with all the boys brought to safety. In a year that our use of plastic and the impact of it on the world around us has risen in prominence, astonishing scenes from the lebanese capital beirut in september. A flood of rubbish and plastic after a torrential storm. From new warnings of the rate of the earths warming, amid the first rise in global c02 emissions in four years, 2018 saw report after report highlighting the impacts of living in a world of rising temperatures. And in december, at a United Nations Climate Conference in poland, renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough warned of a man made disaster on a global scale. If we dont take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world, is on the horizon. Applause. Were back in the control centre at whitelee, the uks biggest onshore wind farm. And mark, weve been itching to know since the beginning of our visit todayjust how much energy has been produced here. Sarah, today at whitelee, weve produced six gigawatt hours, we expect across our portfolio to produce around 3a gigawatt hours. A very productive day across the uk and particularly here. Already 30 of the uks power produced by wind energy. Is that figure going to increase, is it something you expect to grow . Absolutely, our drive is to build more onshore wind, it is the cheapest form of energy. But it is also solar, other storage elements too, and we want to capture that to provide the best energy mix. Thank you so much for having us here and showing us around your operations. Youre very welcome. Thank you. In fact, on the day we filmed, strong winds across the uk helped to set a new Renewable Energy record, with wind farms supplying almost a third of the uks electricity needs. And now to one of the more unusual sights of 2018 an almost perfectly rectangular iceberg, more than a kilometre across, flowing in the weddell sea off antarctica in october. Floating. The clean lines and sheer edges proving its recent separation from an ice shelf. And finally. Oh, the weather outside is frightful. Not for these children, its not. Their delight is because this is the first time they have ever seen snow. Its november in the canadian city of toronto, where snow is hardly headline news. But for these eritrean children, who have come from a refugee camp in sudan, its reason to celebrate. But dont get too carried away theres a lot of winter still to go. Let it snow, let it snow. And thats it for this time on weather world. Sarah, i know its a good thing to come to a wind farm on such a windy day, but can we go back inside . I will get you a warm cup of tea in a moment. The highlights from the previous programme, go to the website. And look out for more weather world in 2019. Until then, keep checking the forecast. Good evening, all quiet, really, to close out the year of 2018, today, largely dry, the brightest spots, scotland, Northern Ireland, and for an houror so around scotland, Northern Ireland, and for an hour or so around lunchtime in the south east we had a window of sunshine. The emphasis with the cloudy conditions, that continues through the night to night for all of us. We will see rain pushing through scotland, it may push this into the north of england by dawn tomorrow, if temperatures hold up, cloud acting like a blanket, not a cold start to saturday, could be cloudy one. The reason for this at the moment, we are under the influence of High Pressure, sitting to the south, wind swinging round in a clockwise direction, dragging up the warm air from the south west. Hence why it is mild to close out the year. Windy start in the far north, as the rain promptly eases away but gusts of wind, 40, 50 kph, the rain is rattling through at quite a pace. 40 15 mph. Then it isa quite a pace. 40 15 mph. Then it is a relatively quiet story, some cloud around, a breezy afternoon, mostly dry, showers will be through few and far between and temperatures will preach at ten to 13 degrees. Peak. We will keep some cloud into the weekend, some wet weather brushes with the edges, as that clears through, we could see those skies clear, temperatures, eastern areas, potentially falling away, so areas, potentially falling away, so a chillier start to sunday morning, low single figures here, further west, looks as though it stays pretty cloudy and mild and looks as though the further west, always run the risk of a little more in the way of mist and fog. Chilly start, may well see the best of the sunshine for the second half of the weekend. Temperatures are fairly uniform, ten to 13 degrees. As we move out to sunday into monday, new years eve, if you have plans, you will be pleased to hear that it will be business as usual, likely to stay dry, particularly cloudy for most of us. Dry, particularly cloudy for most of us. Great news if you will be out and about, celebrating. A cloudy story for most, and dry. Enjoy. This is bbc news. The headlines. The music retailer hmv is being put into administration, placing more than 2,000 jobs at risk. The home secretary declares the rising number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel a Major Incident and asks for an urgent call with his french counterpart. Three men are found guilty of the murder of five people who died after an explosion in a shop in leicester in february. And jurgen klopp says theres no danger of liverpool getting carried away by their six point lead at the top of the premier league table, as they prepare to face arsenal tomorrow