you're watching bbc world news. your main headlines: president trump has threatened the us government will grind to a halt at midnight, on the expectation the senate won't approve funding for his border wall. mr trump has blamed the democratic party for an impasse over the funding bill. following the resignation of us defence secretaryjim mattis, kurdish—led forces in syria have warned they may be unable to hold onto islamic state group prisoners if security there deteriorates after us troops withdraw. flights at gatwick airport near london have resumed again after being suspended for a second time over a drone sighting. the airport reopened on friday following a 36—hour closure which stranded 100,000 passengers. and thousands of people in hungary have returned to the streets of budapest to protest against controversial new labour laws. that's it from me. at 10pm, fiona bruce

will be here with a full round—up of the day's news. now on bbc news, it's time for 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. 0n on one of the windiest days of that year, we have come to one of the windiest places in the uk. which is sensible because this is the uk's biggest onshore wind farm. so hold onto your hats. this is weather world. we'll be getting up close to find out just how world. we'll be getting up close to find outjust how these wind turbines work and revealing how much power they can generate on a stormy day like this. it's a bit like the opposite of a fan. our turbines do the opposite. also on whether world... —— weather world. 2018's biggest storms. 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 i am at the imperial college london, where they make their own wind to research how to keep the public safe. the wind turbine. it's the modern incarnation of humans attempt to harness the inherent 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. and while the site of these turbines is not to everyone's liking, as more of them appear across the cache site and the sea, the growth goes on. the uk's wind energy industry estimates offshore wind power capacity is set to nearly double injust wind power capacity is set to nearly double in just the wind power capacity is set to nearly double injust the next wind power capacity is set to nearly double in just the next decade. wind power capacity is set to nearly double injust the next decade. and when it comes to onshore wind farms in the uk, they don't come any bigger than this. 250 of these turbines in an area ten miles across. we are in scotland and this is new glasgow. i would tell you what. every of these turbines is going lengthy clappers today because it is windy. sehrou, it's only getting windier. that is right, nick. the wings are struggling throughout the day and that is powering... they're on, how much energy has been produced during our visit. peter, you're the area supervisor here. it's a prime date

for the wind energy. in excellent date for when production. the site is pretty much running up at full powerjust now, 500, over 550 megawatts of power. that's enough energy to provide electricity to run about 300,000. on a day like this, what percentage of scotland's energy could be produced by wind power? the amount of wind power we have in scotland, there's every chance that 100% as colin '5 electricity could be... what makes the location you're so be... what makes the location you're so prime for a wind farm? geographically, is the highest point between two coasts. it's very exposed to the wind. it's a good location but a wind farm and maximise when you. thank you. later on... the sheer scale of this wind farm. and with this example of the power of wind, we start our weather

review of 2018, in the netherlands in january. winds review of 2018, in the netherlands injanuary. winds so strong that blows people off their feet. these are some of the strongest winds ever recorded here. this storm that strikes the us city of boston in january is dubbed a bond cyclone and commands wins with snow and flooding and then, this. as plummet, the flood freezes, consuming dozens of ca i’s flood freezes, consuming dozens of cars with ice. in the uk, the first day of spring looks 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's ever an example of keep calm and carry on, it's from this bus driver and her quick reactions in scotland. the big freeze covered much of europe too, giving rome its

biggest snowfall in decades. so, of course, that means a mass snowball fight in saint peters square. the cold start to spring was in a distant memory as the uk experienced his hottest. . . memory as the uk experienced his hottest... the hottest on record. by summer, hottest... the hottest on record. by summer, severe hottest... the hottest on record. by summer, severe with the consonant 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 group of extreme heat. this is portugal, where temperatures broke the 46 celsius mark. back in the uk can dry start to summer on record turned the land from green to brown. wildfires rage on northern england. they are some of the worst in living memory and the skill of

the devastation is hard to believe. summer 2018 is uk's joint the devastation is hard to believe. summer 2018 is uk'sjoint hottest on record. but perform as we needed, the seasons are unstoppable. an early smothers the hills of southern england at the end of november. when it comes to early snow, morocco ta kes 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. i'm 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. i'm joined by professor peter berman, emeritus professor here. he's a professor of aerodynamics. spinaljaidee your. this is a very large low—speed wind tunnel. you can look at wind energy

devices, turbines and how efficient they are. we can look at buildings, including looking at the comfort around buildings for pedestrians, cyclists, with the effect of the wind. it's a little loud. you mentioned use the facilities to test things like vehicles, but also because the impacts of wind on built—up areas and i buildings yes. it is modified... 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 change might need to be made to improve pedestrian comfort. later in the programme, we'll come back and talk more about the impact of wind on built—up areas and high buildings. peter and i are taking a drive around the wind farm now. you can get a real sense of the scale of how

massive this wind farm is. peter kim how i has it been in operation here at whitelee? whitelee has been in operation nine near shell. -- nine yea rs operation nine near shell. -- nine years now. looking out of the wind turbines, they cover a distance of about ten miles. why are they not closely packed together? we could pack them together, but as the wind passes through the rotors and it's disrupted by the blades in it because it's a kind of vortex. the turbine may actually stop for vibrations. you have to be quite widely spaced in order to let the winds settle down as it passes through one more time. it had a look at the broad scale of the wind farm and a nick is about to get better acquainted with the wind turbine and ta ke acquainted with the wind turbine and take a closer look at how they operate. this is the closest i have ever been

toa this is the closest i have ever been to a turbine. 0f this is the closest i have ever been to a turbine. of course, the obvious thing is the size of it. the other thing, which i hadn't realised them is the blades whizzing through the air. and another thing. when you see these from a distance, it seems like these from a distance, it seems like the blades aren't going around very fast but when you are right next to them, they are whizzing through the air. you get sense of all the energy that the harness. you know lindsay isa that the harness. you know lindsay is a project manager. fiona, bottom line. how do these work? it wind passing to the turbine... the blades are catching kinetic energy. it spends... a generator converts it to electoral energy. it's a bit like the opposite of the way a fan operates. it's not the case on these turbines, too, they can work at

their maximum potential in summer. there is... there's an animal that make there is... there's an animal that ma ke allows there is... there's an animal that make allows the... get the best out of the aerodynamics. can it be too windy for turbines? lived the weather be so bad it does not work properly? that very frequent. the turbines tend to be available almost 100% of the time. it's not for long periods of time. it usually intense conditions or about. but today is about as good as it gets. today's perfect. perfect for our needs for generating renewable electricity. and we're going to find outjust how much of that electricity has been generated when we had you the control centre here a little later on. and now, in praise of beautiful sunsets. here's a selection of your

weather watcher pictures from 0ctober. some stunning examples could seen across the uk. as the sun sets, it's light travels for a greater depth of the atmosphere. but it is blue and green light is scattered but not the red, and this becomes the dominant colour we see. you can become the bbc weather watcher by signing up online at bbc .c0 watcher by signing up online at bbc .co.uk/ watcher by signing up online at bbc .co .uk/ weather watchers. still to come on weather world, freak floods and tropical cyclones. more of 2018's against storms. and this wind tunnel can generate wind speeds of up tunnel can generate wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. i will be finding out how the research can help keep pedestrians safe. we are in scotland at the uk's biggest onshore wind farm, whitelee. we have been outside to see the turbines can find out how they work and we have come inside to where they are monitoring all the energy of this

turbines producing. if the control centre. it's a good day for you. it's a windy day. tell me about the weather information you get coming into your. we do. the wind is obviously truly important to us. it's our business. some of the... what this actually does is provide us what this actually does is provide us with a 1k what this actually does is provide us with 814 day that spoke weather forecast for oversights across the uk. that's not just forecast for oversights across the uk. that's notjust for wind. forecast for oversights across the uk. that's not just for wind. as for rain... you can look at how much energy has been generated. i was at turbine 55 earlier, getting very close to that. how is that doing today? weekend. we can look in our system at turbine 55. it's roughly about 70 metres per second wind. at

the moment... is around 30 three mac —— that is around 1300 poems from that... from that one turbine. that is quite incredible. we are providing some services for national good. it's notjust what's going on at whitelee being monitored here, but it's also wind farms across the uk. in fact, but it's also wind farms across the uk. infact, they but it's also wind farms across the uk. in fact, they monitor and control a0 wind farms from here from northern scotland to cornwall, ireland, too. even one of because of germany. with, in total, over1000 wind turbines. now our weather review of 2018 continues. huge waves smashing into seafront apartments in tenerife in the canary islands amazingly, no one was injured. but... three times the average

0ctober rainfall came in a few hours. 12 people were killed. in japan to historic flooding was swamped large areas of the country injuly. killing swamped large areas of the country in july. killing around 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 delusional almost 25 yea rs. its heaviest delusional almost 25 years. shorted november. this video ca ptu res years. shorted november. this video captures 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, the monsoon, 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 swept away after torrential rain in and kara. seven people were injured. it has been another year of intense tropical cyclones. this is typhoon hitting hong kong in september as the most powerful ever recorded here. fiji in aprilfeeling the force of a second cyclone in as many weeks. fiji's 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 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. he wettest tropical cyclone ever recorded in this part of the usa. worse was to come in 0ctober. as michael became the most powerful hurricane to hit the floor

and up —— hit the florida panhandle and up —— hit the florida panhandle and forth strong as to the usa. there were fears this hurricane would cause catastrophic damage but the reality of what this form would leave behind was worse than ever imagined. much of what he should be the city of mexico beach is destroyed. —— what used to be the city. this is a scam on the of the city of london. —— this is a scale model. i am city of london. —— this is a scale model. iam back city of london. —— this is a scale model. i am back at imperial college's college of aeronautics. why do architects need to be concerned about the stronger the wind when they are at new buildings? a number of reasons. one is, is when going to destroy the building? these complex models you see here, looking 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 we're doing in this is simulating characteristics of the natural wind. the energy in the wind increases with height. so the height hitting the top of a very tall building is going to be stronger than it is at lower levels. and also that it can divert some of that wind down to ground level stop what we have ramped up the win. it's feeling a bit stronger. you would not normally used smoke, though, would you wish we would not normally use smoke. you andi we would not normally use smoke. you and i have become a high—rise building. yes, we have. not recommended. how do you then monitor the strength of the wind, the gusts around these buildings? we have sensors embedded, coming through the floor of the model, and they are measuring the wind speed at the

height of a typical building. it's been fascinating being here today. vicki so much for your time. monsoon windstorms in india. these enemy are the worst in decades. sweep across the worst in decades. sweep across the north, whipping up the dust of the north, whipping up the dust of the dry months. 0ver100 people are killed. some storms gathering roll—out over huge distances. this massive storm was caught on camera in china's gansu province in november. be safe in the nearby gobi desert. disaster injuly. strong winds spread the rapid spread of a wildfire through northeastern athens. the destruction left behind reveals only some of the horror that unfolded here, more than 80 people died, many of them as they sought safety on the beach. and it's 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. it's the worst fire here in living memory about respecting neither the beautiful setting of the houses destroyed nor the wealth of their owners. but even this pales in comparison to this. virtually the entire tower of paradise lost to the deadliest most destructive wildfire estate has ever known. a apocalyptic scenes that prompt debate about the effect climate change could be having in california. more than 80 people died here. get to go back 100 yea rs people died here. get to go back 100 years define a wildfire that more people in the usa. rains dampen the fires, with a number of stores going into december. but they caused flooding and brought fears of mudslides. turnaround! the flash flood is right there! no one was a

repeat of this. get out of your! go! the moment the mudslide hit the california town of montecito. 20 people died the destruction that followed. down under now, any multiyear droughts they are calling the big dry continues in the oestrogen state of new south wales. —— in the australian state. farmers are failing to feed and water the capital. since then, there has been some rain. the heaviest november rain in sydney, but long term devastates the back, —— long—term, rains deficit remains. the boys and difficult which are located deep within flood cage, setting off a race against time and the weather is monsoon rains could leave them

stranded for months. it's 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 are use of plastics and our impact on the world around us is revenue prominence, astonishing scenes from the lebanese capital beirut in september, a flood of rubbish in plastic after a torrential storm. from new warnings of the rate of the earth's warming amid the first rise in global c02 earth's warming amid the first rise in global co2 emissions, 2018 subreport after reports highlighting the impacts of living in a world of rising temperatures. and in december, a united nations climate conference in poland, renowned naturalist and broadcasters david attenborough warned of a man—made disaster on a global scale. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction

of much of the natural world is on the horizon. we are back in the control centre at whitelee. uk's biggest onshore wind farm. mark, we've been itching to know since the beginning our visit today, just how much energy has been produced here. today, at whitelee, we've produced six gigawatt hours. we expect to be 3a gigawatt hours. today is a record breaking day. a really productive day across the uk in particular here at whitelee. already about 30% of the uk's power is produced by wind energy. is that a figure that's going to go up? is that something you expect to grow in the future? absolutely. it's snatches solar. it's other... thank you so much for having us here and for showing us around your operations at whitelee. you're very welcome. thank you. in

fa ct, you're very welcome. thank you. in fact, on the date we found him a strong winds across uk helps to set a new renewable energy record with wind farm providing almost a third of the uk's energy needs. and now, one of the... the clean lines ensure a just proving its recent separation from an ice shelf. and that for these children commenced not. their delight is because this is the first time they have ever seen snow. it is november in the canadian city of toronto, where snow is hardly headline news. but for these retrieved children who came for a refugee camp in sudan, it's reason to celebrate. don't get to carried away. there's a lot of winter still to go. # let it snow, let it snow, let it

snow. and that is it for this time on weather world. i know it is a good thing to come to a wind farm in such a windy day. can we go back inside? for highlights on her previous shows on weather world, go to... in till then to mickey checked the forecast. —— until then, keep checking the forecast. hello there. the all—important christmas forecast in full detail is

coming up injust a moment. recently, we've had quite a shower rerun of weather and that looks set to continue into the start of the weekend. decent spells of sunshine in between the showers. a weakening area of low pressure is just to the north of scotland and that's where we're going to see the lion's share of the showers. a ridge of high pressure building in across england and wales should tend to ease the showers through the day. with an west of scotland, that's where we'll see the showers. showers will tend to be aligned with the wind direction in western scotland. for some, it could turn out to be quite a wet day. a mild day, though. temperatures between nine and 12 celsius. for the second half of the weekend, we are going to see some rain moving in thanks to this area of low pressure. this low pressure is also going to bring some very big cabbage or contrasts. we're coming from the north across northern areas but coming from a long way south into the south of england and wales.

temperature contrast really building. still some uncertainty about how far north it's going to but the bulk of the wet weather will be across england and wales. it is getting louder in the south. it's getting louder in the south. it's getting colder in scotland for more temperatures will be around 6 degrees, where there will be some sunshine. pressure builds on the top of our weather front as we head into monday, which of course is christmas eve. that means if the weather front is still there, he will bring... through the day, as pressure builds, the front gets squished and so the rain will turna the front gets squished and so the rain will turn a little bit later and patchy or in nature. the best of the sunshine across the north and east of the country, that's where the air is colder. getting colder. milder weather in the southwest. for christmas day, this milderaircoming southwest. for christmas day, this milder air coming from a long way south will be moving into western portions of the uk. that means for

christmas day, we're going to have something up in east— west split with our weather. western areas having a lot of cloud. so could be quite low. further some patches of frost and fog and we should see some spells of sunshine. probably the best of that sunshine will be in two parts of northeast scotland. a weather front will be approaching western scotland and if that speeds up western scotland and if that speeds upa western scotland and if that speeds up a little bit, you could see a bit of rain getting to the west of scotla nd of rain getting to the west of scotland as we have through christmas afternoon. the mildest weather in the west. temperatures 12 degrees. it is, temperatures closer to normalfor degrees. it is, temperatures closer to normal for the degrees. it is, temperatures closer to normalfor the time degrees. it is, temperatures closer to normal for the time of year. a weather front will be bringing some thicker cloud to northern ireland across southern scotland and northern england as we go through wednesday, which is boxing day, so there will be a bit of rain here. generally, though, this temperatures we re generally, though, this temperatures were just generally, though, this temperatures werejust coming generally, though, this temperatures were just coming up generally, though, this temperatures werejust coming up in degree or two. we're looking at temperatures we re two. we're looking at temperatures were typically getting into double figures and just on the mild side. between christmas and new year, the jet stream is going to take a more amplified pattern. probably have some cold air outbreaks, subarctic

outbreaks, affecting the northeast of the united states and canada, where he could season snowstorms. —— where he could season snowstorms. —— where we could see some. rain very weather systems for the most part heading towards iceland was that we get the south—westerly winds. a lot of moisture in the air. i think across western areas, we will continue with the threat of some low clouds and drizzle he patches but generally, temperatures probably above normal. that's your weather. flights resume again at gatwick despite stopping briefly earlier this evening after the sighting of another drone. thousands of passengers get away but for others the chaos since yesterday has ruined christmas and holiday plans. they're throwing us to the wolves, basically. you know? we're left here, i can't go and see my grandma, i can't go to the wedding. it's just not acceptable. it's deplorable. police and military technology is providing what's being called mitigating measures to enable flights at gatwick to continue. also tonight... flights at gatwick to continue.

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