this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm. "callous", "cruel", "heinous" — widespread condemnation of the shooting dead ofjournalist lyra mckee in londonderry. police say they have one message to the gunmen. you are not wanted. if your purpose in this good afternoon. society is to cause mayhem, a journalist has been shot dead try and kill people, cause damage through bomb explosions — in londonderry in what police say was a "terrorist incident". that is not wanted. detectives blame dissident republicans for the killing hundreds of police in central london of 29—year—old lyra mckee, stop suspected protestors heading to oxford circus — during rioting late last night. the focus of a climate change the trouble broke out after police protest for the past five days. raided a number of homes in derry‘s creggan area. supporting disadvantaged familes at easter — the prime minister theresa may has as record numbers of children and families are described the death of ms mckee as "shocking and truly senseless". our correspondent andy moore's report contains some flash photography. police say they went into the creggan area of the city to search for firearms.

they were met with rioting. more than 50 fire bombs were thrown and two cars set on fire. during the disturbance, a man crouched in the street with a handgun and fired up to ten times towards police lines. ms mckee was hit as she stood beside a police land rover. the 29—year—old freelance journalist died in hospitalfrom her wounds. just before she was shot, ms mckee tweeted a photo of the scene with the caption, "absolute madness". a fellow journalist described what happened. no other distinguishable sound, the pop, pop, pop of a gun. when i heard that, i took cover behind a wall. but directly in my line of sight, i saw the police land rover right in front of me. and i saw a woman lying on the ground. police say they believe the murder was the work of dissident republicans in the new ira. this is a horrendous act.

it's unnecessary, it's uncalled for, it's totally unjustified. but not only is it the murder of a young woman, it's an attack again upon the people of this city. you know, when i left religious education at 16... ms mckee has been described as a rising star ofjournalism, who had onlyjust moved to derry. here she was two years ago arguing for lgbt rights. we need to have conversations, difficult conversations, and fight for the hearts and minds of those who oppose us. this was the message to the men of ireland from the priest who anointed lyra in her hospital bed. stop, i would say what you're doing is... today is good friday. the good friday agreement. this is the day when christians celebratejesus‘s conquering of sin, death and evil. and you are actually adding to that today. what you're doing is insulting to christians. from across the political divide, there's been condemnation of the murder.

those people who carried out this attack do not have any support. attack have attacked all of us. they have attacked the community, they have attacked the people of derry, they have attacked the peace process, and they've attacked the good friday agreement. this was an attack on everybody in northern ireland. it doesn't matter if you are catholic or protestant, british or irish, this is an attack on democracy. police have called the murder calculated and callous. they are now appealing for calm. andy moore, bbc news. our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in derry for us now. lyra was well known locally. how are people reacting to her death? we heard her there described as a rising star. if anything that's probably an understatement. she had written for many different publications, buzzfeed, private eye, she had a book deal due out next year. she was described as a huge

talent, so such a sense of loss here today. derry has been the focus of a violent activity by dissidents over the years so some people have in some ways become a customer sometimes to seeing violence spilled out onto the streets. but even during the bloodiest days of northern ireland's 30 year conflict, only one journalist was killed, so the death of lyra mckee is a very sobering reminder today of the danger. what's behind the latest violence in derry? dissident republicans, who are carrying out violent activities, the capacity for them to carry out violence has diminished over recent yea rs. violence has diminished over recent years. police obviously worked very ha rd years. police obviously worked very hard behind carrying out raids, a paramilitary task force focused every day on countering that threat. police say they had carried out raids on homes here locally looking for firearms yesterday because they believed that attacks were being

planned on police over the easter weekend. at this time of year in some years gone by, violence can escalate as we approach the commemoration of the easter rising. but the capacity of dissidents to carry out violence has diminished, but it's still a very real threat here. police have appealed to people with information to please come forward. they have also tried to dissuade any minority of people in the community from giving support to these groups. last year we saw a week of rioting here in derry over the summer and week of rioting here in derry over the summerand in week of rioting here in derry over the summer and injanuary a bomb detonated outside the city's court house. thankfully there were no injuries, but much more tragic consequences today. emma vardy in derry, thank you. hundreds of police officers have arrived in central london, stopping anyone they think is a protesterfrom getting down to oxford circus. the area has been the focus of a climate change protest for the past five days. activists have also gathered at heathrow airport. so far, nearly 600 people have been arrested. sarah walton has the story.

it was a peaceful start to day five of the protest. with the easter holiday keeping many commuters off the roads, there was less disruption to traffic. but demonstrators said they were as determined as ever to remain. i have come out to do my bit and we are going to come back on monday and we will be getting arrested again and probably maybe locking on here again or doing whatever is necessary until the government is prepared to speak with us. police have been making arrests, moving in in groups to carry protesters lying on the ground. but many of those detained have returned to the demonstrations as soon as they were released. the home secretary sajid javid says... "they have no right to cause misery for the millions of people who are trying to lead their daily lives. i expect the police to take a firm stance and use the full force of the law. they have my full backing in doing so." scotland yard says all rest days for officers have been cancelled but the operation is now keeping them from core duties.

this is very frustrating for us because this is going to cost millions. the sufferers from this will be the local communities in local boroughs where officers are being taken from the community areas and the funding money needs to be found to deal with what we are doing, but the knock—on effect will be that my colleagues at some stage need to have their time off, need to have their breaks, they are human beings, and it needs to be paid for. this morning, a small group staged a protest at heathrow airport but were quickly moved on by police, who had promised a robust response to any attempts to disrupt travel there. this lunchtime police have begun making arrests again but as extinction rebellion say more people arejoining their organisation every day it is still not clear when the protests will end. in the last couple of hours we have seen about 20 or so protesters taken away from waterloo bridge. police going in and asking protesters to move and when they refuse, carrying

them away to waiting police vans. the police are being firm but so far it's all very good—natu red. the police are being firm but so far it's all very good—natured. if you look around here, you can see the police have pulled back slightly, gathering over there, waiting and assessing the situation. i know there is a hope that protesters will move and start gathering at one point at marble arch, but having chatted to protesters here this morning, they say they have no intention of leaving this site yet. sarah walton in central london, thank you. christians in paris are preparing to mark good friday, four days since the notre dame cathedral fire. workers and fireman are continuing to work on the building, reinforcing fragile points of the cathedral. france's culture minister has warned that two gables and figurines perched high up in the building were still at risk of collapse. two foreign nationals, aged 22 and 36, have died after they got into difficulties in the water off aberdeen beach. the emergency services were sent to the scene at around 12:45am this morning after reports of two women

in the water. they were picked up by the lifeboat service and taken to hospital but both later died. police scotland say that the two women lived in the city. councils, schools and community centres in parts of the country are increasing their support over the easter holidays for disadvantaged families. figures show almost 3 million children with working parents were living on the poverty line last year in the uk — a record number. the government says tackling disadvantage is priority, and is investing £9 million to give more access to holiday clubs. frankie mccamley has been to a youth centre in manchester that has opened its doors for the first time this easter. school's out. and it's time for some good old fashioned fun. after a morning of pretty impressive activities, everyone at this youth centre in east manchester is working up an appetite. i'm eating mash, beans and sausage. and how is it, is it good? yeah.

in the holidays, i'm so bored. but now it feels amazing to be here. how does being here compare to being at home? it's better here, because you get some fresh air. the scheme is in an area where almost half of families live below the poverty line. food is free today and throughout the school holidays, but in term time, even though meals only cost a pound, some parents can't always afford to pay. what's it like when you see those young children and you can see that they clearly can't afford to buy that food? it's heartbreaking. they sort of walk up and down, and they're watching other children, what they've got. they think we're just behind there, serving, but we're not. we're eyes all over, watching for that hungry child or, something's not right. and nobody will go hungry here. no. no one will go hungry. with the support of a government grant and money from the private sector, it's the first time they've

opened for easter, and it's a lifeline for some working parents. in school holidays, i know they can come in, they can have breakfast and i know they'll get dinner. it's helped me out, or i'd have been really, really stuck this last 12 months, 18 months. really. manchester has one of the highest levels of child poverty in the uk. every week, around 1000 children and teenagers come to this youth centre. and it's notjust here. smaller schemes are being set up across the country over easter in schools, churches and community centres. around half the food served here is delivered by volunteers from a localfood bank. a few miles away, at the busy depot, despite quadrupling the numbers of meals they provide in the last three years, staff say there still aren't enough schemes open at this time of year to feed those who need it. our partners and charity members, theyjust don't have the resources to provide school holiday food in the summer, six weeks, as well as easter,

so they are making hard choices. we would like to see more funding at easter time so we can work with more charities who want to do the easter holidays. lining up, ready, in position. and it's during the holidays when money can be tight. although children's clubs do relieve a bit of tension, council budgets are stretched, so it will be a struggle to provide resources like this everywhere. frankie mccamley, bbc news, in manchester. there have been some dire warnings about travel problems during the easter getaway, with one group predicting some road journeys could take three times as long as normal today. so, how's it looking right now? 0ur reporter megan paterson is on the m6 near lymm in cheshire. what's the picture? this is the lymm interchange, a real crunch point for a lot of the north—west motorway traffic was up underneath me, the m6 is flowing pretty freely at the

moment but lots of congestion caused already this morning will stop on the m6, m56, m62, all nearby. that caused sometimes by break downs but mainly by volume of traffic. we expect 4.4 million drivers to get in their cars today and head off for their cars today and head off for the easter getaway and over the course of the weekend 24 million drivers are expected to take a leisure trip. the advice from motorist organisations is expected to be busy, leave yourself extra time and be prepared to be patient. disruption not only on the road networks though. we know some train passengers will see upsets to their journeys as well, particularly on the west coast main line, trains leaving glasgow, running through preston and onto london are severely disrupted today as work takes place. people hoping to get away to enjoy the easter sunshine, it might take them longer to get there and they mightjust need

them longer to get there and they might just need a them longer to get there and they mightjust need a bit more patient than normal. megan paterson in cheshire, thank you. a small bone in the knee that had been disappearing from the human body is making an unexpected return. the purpose of the fabella — in a tendon behind the knee — is not clear, and its return is a bit of a pain as it's linked to arthritis. researchers say its resurgence may be down to better nutrition. for more than 2 million people in england, the blue badge is essential, allowing people with disabilities to park close to their destinations, including on yellow lines. now it could be extended to those with hidden conditions, such as autism or mental health issues, in the biggest change to the system in 40 years. graham satchell reports. hold on to noah's coat. noah, wait! just going out to the park can be a challenge for hayley. her five—year—old son, noah, has autism.

he often has his own agenda and ideas about what he'd like to be doing. he knows he needs to walk on the pavements but he doesn't always follow those rules. hayley wants to find a space as close as possible to the park so she doesn't have to cross too many roads. ok, so we're just driving around and i can see a couple of blue badge spaces that are empty. otherwise there aren't any spaces so... mummy, i need to get out of the car. we're going to go and park now, 0k? as the tension starts to rise, hayley ends up in a supermarket car park. having a blue badge would make a huge difference to us. it would give noah much more freedom, much more independence. if the risk is too high then without the blue badge we wouldn't be able to go out. so i think it would make a huge difference. the blue badge scheme has already changed in scotland and wales to include people with so—called hidden disabilities. when england follows suit later this year, the criteria for getting one will also change. as well as physical disability, badges will be issued to someone who can show they can't make a journey without it causing very considerable psychological distress.

some, like alan norton, are worried. he has been a wheelchair user since he contracted polio as a three—year—old and says finding a blue badge space now can be a challenge. i really have some concerns about expanding the scheme even further. we're already having to... i might have to wait for an hour to get parked. i think we have to go back to the basics of the blue badge. it's there about lack of mobility and i think we should stick to that and keep to that criteria as the main kind of criteria that needs to be applied. alan eventually finds a space. it'll be up to local authorities to administer and issue the extended blue badge scheme. it's also up to them how many parking spaces there will be. i would hope that if there are pressures in certain areas and in certain parts of the country, that local authorities would look at that.

but you can't discriminate against certain types of disability and you certainly shouldn't discriminate against those with a hidden disability. noah has finally made it to the park and, after some more negotiation, he finds his way to the swings tojoin his sister and grandparents. the government in westminster says extending the blue badge scheme will ensure even more people can go about their daily lives without worrying about how they will get from one place to another. that is certainly hayley‘s hope. whether it works in practice is less clear. graham satchell, bbc news. the uk's first ever guide horse has taken a ride on a train, to see how well he would fare with public transport. this is digby, a 20—month—old miniature horse. he's training to assist people with visual impairments. he travelled on newcastle's metro train to prepare for life in london. digby is described by his owner as affectionate and loves to be petted.

there's more throughout the day on the bbc news channel. we're back with the tea time news at 6:30pm. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. good afternoon, i'm will perry, it's 1.18pm and here's your latest sports news. anyone busy on social media today may have noticed lots of these hashtags appearing, with the word "enough". footballers across england and wales are leading a 24—hour social media strike, which started at 9 o'clock this morning, in protest at how racism has been dealt with by football authorities and social media companies. among those taking part is tottenham defender danny rose, who was abused during england's euro 2020 qualifier in montenegro in march. the boycott kicks off the professional footballers' association's anti—racism

campaign, entitled #enough. morally you know what feels like and what doesn't. you can say somebody has not performed well or you are rubbish and you need to do better. we get that. but to be talking about dye and using the n word and all sorts of stuff that we know is i'm a cce pta ble sorts of stuff that we know is i'm acceptable for a start you are taking it to a whole new level, being so personal it is untrue. it won't be the news that kilmarnock fans will want to hear, but their manager steve clarke, is one of the early bookies' favourites to take over the scotland manager's job, after alex mcleish‘s second spell in charge, was ended afterjust 14 months. he was in charge for only 12 games, of which he won five and lost seven. mcleish came under increasing pressure after a poor start to the euro 2020 qualifiers, most notably a 3—0 defeat against kazakhstan. david moyes and scott gemmill are also in the running according to the bookmakers, but clarke has many supporters. i'd be making a beeline for stevie clarke who is currently the

kilmarnock manager. he had a successful time as the number two at a variety of english clubs and he was a management material there as well. he's had a fabulous season with kilmarnock and kilmarnock fans will be devastated if he did go. but for me looking around the names like david moyes are being shouted about, there are quite a few that would do a decent job, and maximise the potential of that group. anyone better than stevie clarke? not that i can see. some manchester united players "need a reality check" after a poor run of form, according to manager 0le gunnar solskjaer. united have lost five of their last seven games in all competitions and were knocked out of the champions league by barcelona on tuesday. ahead of sunday's trip to everton, they're sixth in the premier league, two points behind fourth—placed arsenal, with five matches remainings. it's great to have games to look forward to. and the focus was changed straightaway. of course, we spoke about it after the game. forget about this, we are out, we want to be here again and to be back at these stadiums we need to get amongst the top four.

fantastic week to look forward to. players are in a good state mentally. norwich could be promoted to the premier league later today. the championship leaders need third—placed sheffield united to slip up at nottingham forest in one of the day's early kick—offs and then win themselves later in the day against sheffield wednesday to return to the top flight after a three—year absence. there's a full set of championship fixtures today — play—off chasing bristol city are playing reading. that one kickedoff at midday. reading leading 1—0 at ashton gate. sheffield united—nottingham forest — goaless there at half time. millwall leading i—0 against brentford. bolton will be relegated to league one if they lose to aston villa later. scotland all—rounder con de lange has died aged 38. he was being treated for a brain tumour. born in south africa, he played 13 one—day internationals and eight twenty20s for scotland

between 2015 and 2017 and spent two seasons with northamptonshire in 2012 and 2013. now some boxing news, and jarrell miller, says he's "done nothing wrong" and will appeal the decision, to deny him a licence to face anthonyjoshua at madison square garden, on 1stjune. he returned an "adverse finding" in a drug test and has asked for his b sample, to be examined. former world champion paulie malignaggi says whatever the outcome in this case boxing does have a problem. there are a lot of fighters in the sport that are dirty and the drug testing needs to be more strict, stringent and more often and more capable. you are going to see more guys get away with this. the fact that we catch them once in awhile does not mean you catch all the cheaters. it is just showing it is there. we need the drug testing to be more strict and on a more regular basis.

defending champions golden state warriors beat la clippers 132—105. and philadelphia 76ers won 131—115 against the brooklyn nets. they both lead their playoff series 2—1. as do the san antonio spurs. derrick white scored a career—high 36 points in the game as they beat the denver nuggets 118—108. game four is on saturday. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. thank you very much, will. more now on the shooting of a journalist in londonderry last night. dissident republicans are being blamed for killing 29—year—old lyra mckee. police officials and community leaders have been holding a news conference. the mayor of derry, john boyle, paid tribute to the journalist a few moments ago. this dreadful murder was venus in the extreme and threatened the lives

of many more —— heinous. ijust want to reflect on the fact that i personally knew lyra mckee, i've known her since she was 16 years old. she was bright, she was warm, she was witty, but most of all, she was an outstanding individual, a great friend to so, so many people in this city in the short time that she was with us. and we are brokenhearted for her family at their loss, and brokenhearted for her family at theirloss, and again, brokenhearted for her family at their loss, and again, ijust want to extend our very deepest sympathies to them. there is an awful lot of anger in this city today. it has to be said again, this was not done in the name of the people of this city. those responsible need to understand that. i can't put it any stronger than that. and not only that, but the

people of creggan absolutely abhor what happened last night. lyra was one of us. ladies and gentlemen, i'm going to pass over now to deputy chief constable stephen martin. stephen will obviously explain the latest situation to you and then, of course, will open it up for any further questions. so, deputy chief co nsta ble. further questions. so, deputy chief constable. thank you, mr mayor. and cani constable. thank you, mr mayor. and can i start by expressing my own deepest condolences to lyra mckee's family. not only on behalf of myself but on behalf of the police service of northern ireland. i thought it was really important for me to come to this city today to stand with the mayor and the politicians and other civic leaders in the city. this is a place that i know well. i've spent 11 years of my career here. i care

about this city deeply and i know that the callous and cruel murder that the callous and cruel murder that occurred on its streets last night will be condemned, and the majority of people in this city today will be heartbroken and repulsed. the actions will not have been carried out in their name, and it's because i know of the heart of this city, having spent such time here, i wanted to come along today to stand with the leaders and to say to stand with the leaders and to say to the people who carried this out, this was not done to further any cause. this was not done to further any cause. this will have achieved nothing, other than to plunge a family into grief and to condemn the city that we all love to the worst possible headlines. global headlines today on good friday 21 years to the day after our peace agreement was

signed. campaigners have accused local authorities of practicing social cleansing by misusing powers that allow them to issue fines for rough sleeping, begging and loitering. the charity, liberty, claims councils are using public space protection 0rders to unfairly target vulnerable people as sangita myska reports. public space protection 0rders, or pspos, were first introduced to the home office in 2014 to tackle anti—social behaviour in specific areas. the orders can be issued to ban activities as wide—ranging as sleeping rough, leaving belongings outside in public, begging, and even urban games such as free running. prosecution can also include a fine of up to £100. civil rights groups now claim the orders are being used far too widely by cash—strapped councils, keen to remove the poorest people from their neighbourhoods. new figures suggest that in 2016, the number of fines issued by councils stood at 1,906. by 2018, that number had jumped.

the body representing local authorities says pspos are used selectively and subject to scrutiny and that they are one of a number of ways councils can tackle anti—social behaviour raised by local communities which can ruin people's quality of life, harm businesses or mean people are scared to visit public places. the home office in the statement said pspos should be used proportionately to tackle anti—social behaviour, and not used to target specific or vulnerable groups. it added, it had given councils clear guidance on how orders should be issued. sangita myska, bbc news. time for a look at the weather with mel coles. hello there. yesterday was the warmest weather of the year so far and we are on track

to be those temperatures, more hazy sunshine on offer through the day, more breeze for the rest and isles of scotland, lighter winds for the north sea and channel coasts and it should feel a touch warmer than it has recently. the heat is really building down towards the southern half of the uk where we could see highs of 24 celsius. a fine end to friday and we could see the return of low cloud, mist and fog through lincolnshire, east anglia and east midlands and the cloud will start to edge into western parts of northern ireland and scotland, a little bit drizzly here. there will be a few cool spots to start saturday morning but they will be frost free for all of us. any early morning mist and fog lifting quickly, lengthy spells of sunshine on offer, away from northern ireland and the western half of scotland where we will see outbreaks of rain at times. the heat really building down towards the southern half of the uk where we could see 25 celsius.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the prime minister has described the killing ofjournalist lyra mckee in londonderry as "shocking and truly senseless". it's also been condemned by political leaders in northern ireland and the irish taoiseach. police have begun a murder investigation. this is a horrendous act. it's unnecessary, it's uncalled for. it's totally unjustified. but not only is it the murder of a young woman, it's an attack again upon the people of this city. thousands of police officers are deployed on the streets of central london as they try to stop people joining climate change demonstrators on oxford circus. local authorities are being acused of practicing "social clea nsing" by misusing powers to issue fines for rough sleeping, begging and loitering. the charity, liberty, claims councils are unfairly

targeting vulnerable people. two women have died after getting into trouble in the water off aberdeen beach. police say the 22— and 36—year—olds were foreign nationals who appear to have gone swimming and underestimated the conditions. there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances. now on the bbc news channel, weather world. this time on weather world, we are looking at the impact our warming world is having on the environment around us. i will be discovering the challenges facing migrating birds as the seasons follow increasingly unfamiliar patterns. and i'm investigating how our changing climate is affecting plants and trees. and, finding out why saving seeds is the insurance policy covering whatever direction our future climate takes. i think people are much more aware now of the world around them and how things are changing and the need

for places like this to actually keep these things for the future. also on weather world, the wildest weather of the year so far — astonishing video featuring those caught up in it and those who only narrowly escape it. and how all of that pales in comparison to one of the deadliest tropical cyclones africa has ever seen. this is weather world. i have come to the rspb‘s pulborough brooks nature reserve in west sussex and it is an exciting time of year. the spring migrating birds are starting to arrive back but it is the timing of their arrival and the weather that they face that is really crucial to their prospects of success. this vast reserve, with a mixture of farm and wetland,

covers more than 400 acres. it is home to native birds that are here all year round but in spring, many more birds arrive here to breed and it is those we are looking out for today. you feel like the birds are ready to get on the nests. julianne evans is the senior site manager here. the nature reserve here at pulborough brooks is very varied so why is it such an important site for nature and wildlife? pulborough brooks is an internationally important wetland. it has the highest legal protection you can get. it is a special area of conservation, it is a special protection area and it is a site of special scientific interest. in terms of the migrating birds that are alljust starting to arrive at this time of year, how have you seen things changing over recent years? are there changes in the pattern and timing of migration? they are leaving based on day length from their wintering grounds and they are arriving back to the uk

where the temperature has risen by probably about a quarter of a degree since 1960. and what that has done is then advance all the vegetation growth and all the insect abundance so they are arriving back at the same time but they have kind of missed the boat in terms of food abundance. they will start nesting and then the insect abundance will have changed and they will not be able to feed their chicks. so, looking ahead, what are the potential implications in the future for bird population numbers, for instance, with climate change and also habitat loss as well? well, if birds cannot adapt, and they don't evolve to arrive on that earlier date, then potentially obviously that could cause significant declines in population. there is some evidence to suggest that they are evolving to arrive earlier, however they are not evolving fast enough to keep up with the changes that are happening both in vegetation and insect abundance. so, in the end, what we might end up with is fewer specialists, so fewer migrant birds and more generalists.

thanks, julianne. a little bit later in the programme we will be back here at pulborough brooks taking a look for some specific examples of some early arriving birds this spring. but first, we start our look at the wildest weather of the year so far in indonesia, injanuary. as this long house is swept away in flash floods on the island of sulawesi, many people have to be rescued, but dozens of people die here as the flooding continues into march. but it's in march the world bears witness to a weather disaster on a scale rarely seen. southern africa and flooding from cyclone idai indundates mozambique, zimbabwe and malawi. the united nations calls it one of the worst weather disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere. in the immediate aftermath, a rescue effort finds people

stranded on rooftops and clinging to trees, but the death toll rises rapidly, reaching over 700, and still people are dying as diseases such as cholera increase across the affected areas. the track of idai gives clues as to why the flooding here was so bad. it was a double hit. the scale of the devastation here led many to ask about the role of climate change. in fact, the frequency of tropical cyclones in this area has decreased slightly in recent decades, but the evidence shows that more of those that do form are becoming stronger. now to europe. this bridge on the greek island of crete has survived a lot of severe weather in its 111 year history, but the force of this flood in february was just too much. australia in february, and it's supposed to rain

in queensland during monsoon season, but the rains here this year are exceptional. the city of townsville is hardest hit, with prolonged rainfall shattering records going back to the 19th century. flooding hits iran, too. dozens of people are killed in storms that last from march into april. the record rainfall follows a prolonged drought, and the floods strike with astonishing force. the scale of flooding here is thought to have been made worse by decades of deforestation. in the usa, tornado season gets off to a deadly start. this is alabama in march, weather storms leave a path of destruction half a mile wide and a mile long. 23 people are killed here, that's more than double the number of people killed in tornadoes in the usa in the whole of last year. in the uk in march, an amazing escape. one moment you're strolling along the street, then this happens. strong winds cause part

of a building to collapse, and one lucky pedestrian misses it by seconds. and here's something you don't see very often, a tornado hitting a busy airport. antalya airport in turkey injanuary. some planes were damaged and some passengers injured as they waited to board. while sarah's away with the birds at pulborough, i'm down the road here at wakehurst, and i'm looking at how the changing seasons are affecting our plants and trees, because there is a huge variety of them here across this 500 acre site. this national trust land is managed by royal botanic gardens kew and its home to different habitats allowing plants and tree species from around the world to thrive. what you see today has come a long way to the devastation wrought by the great storm of 1987, which destroyed more than 20,000 trees here. i'm with ed ikin, head of landscapes and horticulture here at wakehurst and, ed, this is an exciting time. spring growth at last.

there's a sense of energy across the landscape, you know? mild days but, more importantly, mild nights. everything is flowering in this incredible kind of concerted display at the moment. in your time here, do you recognise earlier growing seasons, things coming up earlier than they used to? yeah, the key thing really is do you have a concerted winter, you know, extended periods of frost that basically kind of sustained dormancy in plants. and if that isn't there than spring can really start at any point from mid february onwards. i know you've got some examples of that, maybe some winners and losers that we can take a look at. yeah, let's do that. 0k. ed, you've taken me deeper into the woods here to see this beech tree which, it's fair to say, has perhaps had happier times? yeah. so you talked about winners and losers. wakehurst has a framework of native trees — beech, oak, pine — all of which are now under considerable stress. so we talk about biotic and abiotic factors. abiotic, effectively a more

stressful environment. in the case of a beech tree, they don't like mild, very wet winters, very, very hot summers, you know? a lot of temperatures over 30 degrees. it puts this tree under pressure. and then the biotic factors, the tree diseases, have an upper hand and start to put a really intolerable strain upon this tree. so an example of something which is suffering, something which is arriving earlier than perhaps we'd normally expect? i know you've got an example of that, let's go and take a look at that. 0k, great. ed, wakehurst is a place actually famous for its bluebell displays. not necessarily as early as these have appeared? they're out about three weeks early and, again, the complete absence of frost since january has meant they have just grown and grown and grown and they're flowering. so, yeah, they're really quite early this year. so they're pretty to look at, and that's a positive, but is there anything negative from their early appearance? yeah. so in terms of sort of an ecosystem it's like, well,

who can react quickly? so the bluebells have responded to an environmental sort of cue, if you like, but can everything else follow? and all of the pollinating insects that sort of depend on bluebells for their nectar, can they respond quickly? and then the birds that perhaps depend on the grubs of those insects, are they around hunting for those grubs at this time? if there's not a of nice kind of regular dose of flower, pollen, insects, then things can get out of kilter quite fast and you almost have kind of hungry gaps, where there is no flowers or food available. a very good example of something linking back to the birds we were hearing about earlier in the programme. it's been fascinating to talk to you. thanks for showing us around wa kehurst. and we haven't finished here yet, we are back later on looking at a very special project to protect the future of plants and trees whatever the weather does. now, the earth's warming may be reaching new levels. the uk met office says the world is in the middle of what's likely to be the warmest ten years since records began in 1850, as rebecca morelle reports. a temperature rise of 1.5 celsius above preindustrial levels is set as a threshold by un scientists.

anything more could lead to dangerous global impacts. have a look at this graph. the red area shows the predictions the met office has made over the years, and black lines show the actual temperatures they reported. there is a close match. the last four years were the hottest on record. this blue area is their forecast for the next five years. it suggests the warming trend will continue, with a small chance temperatures could temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees. the main driver for all this is a greenhouse gas emissions we are producing. we're still too reliant on fossil fuels like coal, and globally levels of carbon dioxide are at a record high. we've got to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. we've got to reduce the concentrations, because if we don't, we are looking at really big changes in the climate. we're going into territory that we have never been in before. we haven't experienced this, so we don't know precisely what is going to happen.

now, some of your weather watcher pictures showing the early blooming flora and thriving fauna taken during the warmest winter the uk has ever recorded. in late february, temperature shattered previous records by soaring above 20 celsius for the first time in winter, peaking at 21.2 degrees in london. show us the weather where you are by becoming a bbc weather watcher. sign up online at bbc. co. uk/weatherwatchers. still to come on weather world... carbon capture — how rising sea levels caused by climate change could bring us unexpected benefits. and i'll be deep inside the vaults of a bank. there is no money here, but what there is could prove priceless for the natural world. this time on weather world we're looking at our changing climate and the impact of the environment around us. i'm back at the pulborough brooks rspb nature reserve and i'm

with julianne, the senior site manager here. now, julianne, you've taken me to a part of the reserve which is a perfect habitat for the chiffchaff. so, tell me about the chiffchaff, is that one of the earliest birds that arrive back here on our shores? yes, it is, alongside blackcaps, another early arrival. and what's been happening over the years, chiffchaff have been starting to spend the winter here, which is a new development, and we think as a result of climate change. i'm sure they face a lot of challenges with our unpredictable british weather. if we get a harsh winter it is not great for their numbers? definitely not, that would cause a decline, and other species are very sensitive to harsh weather. in terms of some recent studies and our understanding of bird migration, how has technology changed ? the step change in technology has been amazing and caused a massive increase in knowledge of migration routes, factors affecting birds on migration. it is possible to put geolocators on really quite small birds like nightingales and wood warblers,

it is showing us that they are migrating through different routes, how long they spend at different stopover sites and where they spend the winter. it is notjust to do with changing weather and climate here, but along their routes and in their wintering grounds? climate change is an international problem, if birds are starting off and reaching what was formerly a stopover site which has been impacted by climate change, they cannot refuel and move on so it might impact not just when they arrive but in what condition they arrive and therefore their breeding success. thank you so much, julianne. just as wildlife has to cope with temperature extremes, so do humans, with varying degrees of success. in a moment, extreme heat, but first, the bitterly, bitterly cold. january in the usa and

the polar vortex is back. described as a once in a generation blast of arctic air, temperatures across parts of the usa and canada fall to record lows and it feels even colder in the wind, with wind chills of —50 celsius. it does not get much worse than here in chicago, the windy city becoming the wind—chill city. you can see frost on your eyelashes. what does it feel like? it is a little cold, they have frozen closed a couple of times. anything and everything is done to keep things moving — ships break up the ice on the river and train tracks are set on fire, not as crazy as it sounds, it is a built—in system of gas heaters used in extreme conditions to prevent tracks and junctions from freezing. is it going to come down here? yes. as winter turns into spring, the freeze—thaw pattern of

the weather can lead to avalanches. colorado in march and one crashes down a major highway, filmed by a father and son on a ski trip. thankfully nobody was reported hurt. the austrian alps in march, there is an avalanche engulfing a group of skiers. amazingly nobody is injured but some skiers had to be rescued. january was europe's coldest month, with widespread heavy snow. some parts of austria measured more snow than on records going back over 90 years, leaving ski resorts and alpine villages cut off. that does not stop everyone trying to make it through seemingly insurmountable snowdrifts. the uk winter had its moments, including the snowstorm in cornwall at the end of january. a picturesque blanket of white, perhaps, but try telling that to the drivers of up to 100 vehicles

stranded in freezing conditions. but at least this winter failed to deliver a repeat of the beast from the east which paralysed much of the uk one year earlier. but for some people, winter holds no fear. this is moldovan athlete dmitri voloshin running 50 kilometres for charity at the coldest place in the northern hemisphere, the so—called pole of cold in siberia. the thermometer shows a wind—chill of over —60 celsius. he finished in six hours, a new record at such low temperatures. and from one extreme to the other, the australian summer shatters temperature records. it is the hottest summer here with peaks of near 50 celsius. there are wildfires too, including these which destroyed homes in victoria in march. the australian bureau of meteorology says the warming trend

in the country is consistent with warming across the globe. this looks like a summer fire but this is winter in the uk after the record february heat and a long dry spell. this fire broke out on moorland in yorkshire. warmer spells of weather happening earlier in the year are expected to make fires like this more common. i am still at wakehurst but i have come inside to a very special place, the millennium seed bank. it is where they collect billions of seeds from varieties across the world. it is a huge project, janet terry is the seed collections manager. why collect so many seeds? we are the world's largest seed bank for wild species and it is our insurance policy against what is happening in the world around us. what is happening? climate change, plants becoming extinct all the time, notjust from the natural climate but the pressure from people, plants from places like islands

which are very vulnerable to rising sea level, alpine species which are very vulnerable to climate change, they can't go any higher, there's nowhere to go. and when the seeds arrive, it starts here? yes, this crate has come from namibia, one of our partners in africa. these bags contain samples of wild species they have sent to us for safekeeping. this room is at very low humidity, the seeds will dry slowly so it does not damage them, we can put them into a —20 cold store where they live for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. let's look at that final storage place. let's visit the world's biggest biodiversity hotspot. who could refuse an offer like that?! we have come to the storage area and there is a reason why we have this going on,

the temperature is —20 celsius, why? it is the internationally recognised standard for long—term storage of seed collections. you can hear the freezers really going at it. when you come in you just think, "wow, there are so many seeds in so manyjars." you have been here long enough to know what some of them are? for some reason they are only labelled with computer reference numbers and the location within the room, that i can see that is an ash collection. ash is threatened in the uk with ash dieback, a really good reason. this is a species of acacia, probably from africa, extremely useful for livestock fodder, shade, timber, everything you can think of, some medicines. since the project began, have some of the reasons for it become even more prominent?

definitely, i think people are more aware of the world around them and how things are changing and the need for places like this to keep these things for the future. it has been an honour to see inside, thank you for showing us around, janet. it is a pleasure to show you. of course, to really know how our climate is changing you have to measure it, which is what billy barr has been doing for nearly 50 winters deep in the rocky mountains in colorado. every year he measures the snow and has seen dramatic changes in the climate surrounding him. february used to be a very winter cold month and it's almost become mild. long—term, what i have learned, just simplified a bit, there is an obvious change in temperature. he knows this because for nearly half a century he has kept a weather diary and it is a rich source of climate cataloguing for scientists.

but could one result of climate change mitigate some of its effects? rising sea levels are forecast to flood more land near our coasts, but wetlands suck in and store the atmospheric carbon that is warming the planet, as victoria gill reports. you can see plants starting to come back into the restored salt marsh, but when they die, rather than lying in decomposing these layers of sediment essentially lock that material away in the mud, so the carbon in the plant material is stored in the layers of mud in this marsh. by drilling into the mud these us scientists are taking part in a global effort to gather evidence of how much carbon rich plant matter is locked into the layers. by comparing different wetlands around the world they found that as sea levels rise and wash in more sediment on the tides, even more carbon is buried.

they say future sea—level rise could cause marshes on the coast of australia, china and south america to lock away an additional five million tonnes of carbon every year, equivalent to taking on million cars off the roads. the whole schedule of plant growth and carbon burial depends on the tides. solid sea and flood defences cut wetlands off and shut the system down, so conservationists are calling for the protection and regeneration of wetlands around the world to help fight climate change by ensuring that more carbon remains stuck in the mud. and finally, back to the usa winter and a wildlife rescue with a difference. in michigan, this bald eagle was weighed down by a block of ice which formed on its tail. it is captured, the ice is slowly melted and after a spell of rehabilitation, a large crowd

gathered to watch its happy release back into the wild. and that's it for this time on weather world. so it's goodbye from me and the birds at pulborough. and from me at wakehurst, home of the millennium seed bank. for highlights of our previous programmes, go to bbc.co.uk/weatherworld, and watch out for more weather world later in the year. and, for now, keep checking the forecast.

hello, we are ramping up the sunshine and as a result temperatures are following suit and we are already seeing temperatures higher than yesterday when we saw the warmest day of the year so far and there is more warmth to come through the easter weekend with temperatures close to these values. we are drawing that warmth from central europe. around this area of high pressure over scandinavia which is keeping these weather fronts largely at bay although they will make some progress but for this afternoon there is lots of sun shade around albeit at hazy at times as more of a breeze to the western isles of scotland but lighter winds down the channel coasts and here, temperatures will fare a little bit better than they have done recently and noticeably warmer. highs of

around 23, possibly 24 towards the southern half of the uk. a fine end to the day but this cloud is sitting out in the atlantic which will work its way towards northern ireland and the northwest of scotland. elsewhere we could see the return of low cloud, mist and fog through parts of lincolnshire, east anglia and the midlands. most temperatures above freezing. a cool start on saturday morning and that weather front is still pestering parts of northern ireland and western scotland. it could produce some outbreaks of rain but away from that, the heat continuing to build, particularly down towards the south of the uk where we could see highs tomorrow of 25 celsius. as we head into saturday night, high pressure is still in charge and we could see some mist and fog anywhere and at high pressure trying to keep those weather fronts at bay. it looks as though we will still see that a strip of cloud working its way

through northern ireland and up into northwest scotland. we could see outbreaks of rain through easter sunday but elsewhere, another fine, dry day, lengthy spells of sunshine once again and those temperatures doing well with highs of 23, possibly 24 celsius but into easter monday, our high pressure starts to push that rain back towards the west so for most of us, it's dry with 00:59:23,922 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 sunny spells and it's still warm.