The Dark Island.(England)(Brief Article)

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about England that one of the most significant drawbacks of this otherwise lush and prosperous nation was the "darkness of its sky." As he put it, "Night and day are too nearly of a color." A century later, Britons are now battling an even drearier climate. Don't be fooled by last week's sunshine. Rain has reached record levels. The 12 months ending last March marked the wettest period in England and Wales since meteorological records began in 1766. Last autumn and winter, the rainiest period of all, storms caused severe flooding throughout the south.

Was this deluge a fluke or the beginning of something more ominous? Many scientists believe it could be the latter. Over the past 20 years, weather in Britain and some other parts of Western Europe has been consistent with what current climate models predict should happen in a world that is warming: more rainfall and intense storms, especially in winter. "As the world gets warmer, the atmosphere is capable of holding more ...