Ascension : The Met Office Weather Report
Submitted by The Islander (Met Office) 29.04.2010 (Article Archived on 13.05.2010)

Statistics for the week ending Monday 26-April-10

Statistics for the week ending Monday 26-April-10

	Max (Celsius)	Min (Celsius)	Rainfall (mm)
AIRHEAD	31.6	26.5	0.7
TRAVELLERS	32.2	24.9	2.0
RESIDENCY	27.7	21.2	1.0
GEORGETOWN	32.9	25.2	Trace
ST. HELENA	22.6	16.7	9.8
FALKLANDS	11.8	-1.4	14.2
UK (Brize Norton)	12.7	8.9	0.0

UK: Dry and sunny over most of the week with high pressure dominant.  A frontal system pushed in on Saturday to give a cloudy rainy weekend.

Falklands: A cold Antarctic blast set in on Tuesday bringing snow showers.  Turned mild and rainy on Thursday, easing by the weekend to occasional showers.  Very windy from Wednesday onwards.

Ascension: Mainly fine and sunny with isolated light showers throughout the week, a bit heavier on Friday and Saturday, and some quite cloudy periods.   Rather windy throughout.

St. Helena: A mainly dry and cloudy start to the week with some sunny spells.  Windy from Wednesday.  Showers increased from Friday.

Volcanoes are a “Hot topic” at the moment (groan!) and Indonesia, is currently hosting the largest ever World Geothermal Congress in Bali, with 80 countries attending.  Java and Bali are the most volcanically active islands in the world so where better to host it?  Geothermal energy is often dubbed “Volcano Power”.  It is energy made from the heat stored in the Earth.  There’s plenty down there, the Earth’s core is a staggering 7000 degrees Celsius.  This internal heat naturally flows to the surface, even more so at tectonic plate boundaries – where volcanoes and earthquakes happen – because the crust is thinner.  Scientists say in theory the planet's geothermal power is enough to supply the energy needs of mankind, but it currently accounts for just 0.3% of global electricity demand.  Geothermal energy has been used for centuries.  The Romans used it for heating the baths and for space heating.  This natural power can also be seen in the form of hot springs and geysers.  It could be one of the environmentally friendly fuels of the future, helping power Indonesia’s rapidly growing economy without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.  The biggest barrier will be the cost; a geothermal plant could cost about twice as much as a coal one and take many more years to build.

Compiled by April Showers

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Met Office Ascension Island base