October 2019 was a wet and dreary month, the rainfall total of 117.2mms being nearly double the average.

But surprisingly there were few reports of significant flooding.

It was the wettest October since 1993, when the esteemed meteorologist Neil Evans measured 131.2mms at his station at North Thorpe. By contrast, in October 2017 only 19.9mms were recorded at Costessey.

The excessive rains of September and October have more than balanced the deficit accrued during the very dry months of July and August.

For those wondering whether a hard winter is in prospect, the general consensus is that it is likely to be a milder season than usual, with a preponderance of mild Atlantic air streams over the British Isles. However, seasonal forecasts are often little better than informed guesswork, as sudden convulsions in the climate system will always make such forecasts far from foolproof.

A luminary at the University of Texas has joined others in blaming distant civilisations for changing the climate. It is now the turn of the Mayans, who due to their - on a global scale - minuscule burning of forests, and irrigation methods, are being considered to have warmed the planet. The evidence for the this assertion is suspect in the extreme.

Closer to home, a study on the movement of insects in the British Isles responding to climatic variability, states that these little creatures are moving north at the rate of 16 feet per day. As 300 different species were observed, moving at widely varying speeds, this statistic is a rather meaningless generalisation, and it is difficult to believe that this study, begun in the 1970's, reached its conclusion on the basis of no less than 25 million analysed sightings.

The intergovernmental panel on climate change has concluded that global warming is now irreversible as ocean temperatures have now exceeded an (arbitrary) 'tipping point'.

Should this be true, all humankind's efforts to reduce emissions would seem to be of little benefit other than to delay catastrophe. Fear not - there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the world's oceans have warmed beyond natural limits of variability.

We worry about pollution in our city centres due to diesel and other harmful emissions. We have since the 1960's abolished the very severe fogs that used to plague our urban areas - caused mainly by domestic fires. In 1919, the London General Omnibus Company trained a staff for fog men, who were employed day and night during foggy conditions to guide traffic, by means of strong lights - and presumably much patience!

Statistics for October 2019

Total rainfall: 117.2mms (199% of average)

Wettest day: 32.5mms 6th

Days with rain: 23

Coldest day: 10.1C 28th

Mildest day: 17.8C 11th

Lowest minimum: 0.4C 28th

Average temperature: 10.5C (0.5C below average)