Edinburgh News: environment
Trains Continue to Struggle With Freezing Cold
Has day-to-day freezing ice and snow become the new normal? It seems to have been going on for ever. First it was Snowvember, now De-icember, in what has been the worst weather conditions in living memory. With climatologists (such as former government chief scientific advisor David King) suggesting that cold winters come in multiple years, we may need to get used to these bitterly cold conditions.
Travel Delays as Edinburgh Whitens For Christmas
The weekend snowfalls, plummeting sub-zero temperatures, and freezing fog are continuing to make travel trickier this morning.
Edinburgh Plunges Back into Winter
Edinburgh residents woke up this morning to find the city had reverted to winter snow conditions again.
Scotrail Trains Get Dressed Up in Warm "Skirts"
Scotland's main railway company Scotrail has come up with a novel way of dealing with the kind of freezing conditions that caused most of its trains North to grind to a halt in plummeting temperatures around a week ago. It is going to dress its trains in warm skirts.
New Transport Minister Appointed
Alex Salmond has appointed Keith Brown (pictured), formerly Minister for Skills and Lifelong learning, to replace Stewart Stevenson as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.
"Unprecedented" Weather Claims Climate Minister
After the deep freeze on the roads, the political heat proved too much. Stewart Stevenson was forced to resign from his ministerial post yesterday.
Risk of Falling Icicles and Roof Avalanches as Edinburgh Thaws
As recent snow turns to slush, life in Edinburgh is returning to normal. However, the thaw has brought its own problems, as snow loosens and slides off roofs, and spear-like icicles relinquish their grip on gutters and overhangs and fall on pavements below.
Video: Snow Avalanche at Scottish Widows, Edinburgh
Following days of heavy snow earlier this week and last week, Edinburgh roof tops were covered in unusually thick blankets of white.
Weather-beaten Edinburgh Battles Back to Normality
Three days after Scotland's "perfect storm" (as Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has dubbed Monday's transport network seizure), conditions look to be getting better.
Snowsports Warning For Holyrood Park Issued
Following on from last week's avalanche warning for Arthur's Seat, members of the public are being warned against the dangers of some snowsport activities in Holyrood Park after several incidents and injuries on the hill in the last week.
Edinburgh City Council School Closures (Thursday 9 December)
After a freezing night, slightly warmer temperatures of 1C or 2C are forecast in Edinburgh for Thursday with roads and pavements still icy.
Travel Disruption Continues As Temperatures Drop
Travel disruption is continuing across Scotland. Edinburgh was around -13C last night and the Met Office is forecasting a high of -6C during the day. Obviously, the problem on roads is ice, not just snow with traffic crawling along.
Army May Be Brought In To Shift Edinburgh's Snow
The army may be brought in to tackle Edinburgh's snow-covered residential streets as the legion of Council staff and contractors struggle to cope with "the worst snow since 1963".
Edinburgh City Council School Closures (Wednesday 8 December)
Edinburgh City Council said earlier today that schools should be open tomorrow (Wednesday 8 December).
We Need More Know Snow or It's No Go
As Edinburgh's snow related problems plummet new depths, it feels like we are in the script of a Hollywood disaster movie.
Stranded Central Belt Motorists Left In the Dark
Hundreds of drivers stranded in their cars overnight as temperatures plummeted to -14C. Journeys that normally take minutes taking hours, with motorists reporting traffic crawling at a mile an hour. Abandoned cars and lorries littering the sides of roads, causing even more obstacles to the traffic flow and delays.
Airports Close Again to Clear Snow
Heavy snowfalls have grounded planes at both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports again today.
A Little Respite from the Snow
Edinburgh awoke today (Sunday 5th December) to another cold , wintry day - but thank goodness there has been no more snow overnight, which is some relief for us all in the capital city.
Edinburgh's Train Service Suffers As Temperatures Drop
The snow showers may have relented for now, but it has given way to a fiercesome freeze in the last couple of nights that has seen temperatures drop as low as -15C in Edinburgh. Parts of North Scotland have recorded temperatures as cold as -20C.
What You Should Do If Someone Falls Through The Ice
The Pentland Ranger Service is telling people not to venture on to frozen reservoirs in the Pentland Hills this weekend. The rangers warn that the ice forming on the reservoir is of varying thickness and could be extremely unstable. There have been three incidents in the Pentland Hills in the last ten years, one resulting in a fatality.
