§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his findings concerning the likelihood of a series of wet seasons in 1977 and 1978.
§ Mr. Denis HowellNone. The weather forecasts issued by the Meteorological Office are for 30 days ahead. I understand there are, as yet, no reliable methods for predicting rainfall for periods of up to one or two years. The Meteorological Office and the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia have been commissioned to carry out a preliminary study on the feasibility of predicting long-term changes in rainfall and air temperatures over the United Kingdom. The results of this preliminary study will not be available before March 1977.