Wind filled the highest ever portion of Britain’s electricity needs as Storm Ciara moved across the country, disrupting power supplies, interrupting transport and forcing football matches to be postponed.
High winds also helped shorten the flying time from North America to Europe. British Airways flight 112 became the fastest ever subsonic passenger flight from New York to London, at four hours and 56 minutes, according to tracker FlightRadar24.
“We always prioritise safety over speed records, but our highly trained pilots made the most of the conditions to get customers back to London well ahead of time,” BA’s head of global media relations Liza Ravenscroft said. The flight is normally scheduled for six hours and 55 minutes.
Fastest across the Atlantic tonight from New York to London so far is #BA112 at 4hr56m. #VS4 in 4:57, and #VS46 in 4:59. https://t.co/gfYoHGV3Y6https://t.co/kMhjCqdEtt
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 9, 2020
If we're not mistaken, BA now retakes the fastest subsonic NY-London crossing from Norwegian. pic.twitter.com/Sr1GPeAjuh
Wind power made up a record 56 per cent of demand early Saturday morning, when the need for power was low, according to data from utility Drax Group. The clean generation type made up 44 per cent of power for the whole of the day, beating the December 9 record, it said.
Carbon-free electricity outstripped power from fossil fuels for a full year in the UK last year, according to National Grid. The milestone was hit as the nation plans to shut down all coal plants by the middle of this decade and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Storm Ciara has brought gusts of as much as 128 kilometres per hour along with rain and hail to the UK on Sunday. Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said “it’ll remain unsettled and very windy across the UK and it’ll turn colder with wintry showers and ice an additional hazard, as we head into the new week".