18: Whiplash weather: 90

Let’s talk drought. Yes, that’s right, drought! Our weather is experiencing extremes - from flooding to drought - so Alice and Sue delve into this whiplash weather with UKCEH senior hydrologist Lucy Barker. With the latest Hydrological Summary showing that January has been much wetter than average, they explore whether that is enough to replenish water reserves following the extended drought in 2025. Alice and Sue also catch up with UKCEH micro-meteorologist Dr Jon Evans at a COSMOS-UK field site at Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve in Oxfordshire, one of 39 sites which make up a national soil moisture monitoring network that’s literally out of this world. Soil moisture is just one measure alongside rainfall, river flows, groundwater data that UKCEH gathers in partnership with others to produce monthly hydrological summaries – an essential tool for environmental regulators, government agencies, water companies, researchers and farmers. Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice Hope Producer: Rachael Buchanan Counting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Find out more: Hydrological Summary UK Water Resources Portal brings together all the data from the Hydrological Summaries – including COSMOS-UK – in near real time. COSMOS UK Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI) Water UK’s Waters Worth Saving page.