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From Puddings to Trees, Palace Sets out Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations

Britain's Queen Elizabeth records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle, next to a photograph of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in Windsor, Britain, December 23, 2021. (Reuters)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle, next to a photograph of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in Windsor, Britain, December 23, 2021. (Reuters)
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From Puddings to Trees, Palace Sets out Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations

Britain's Queen Elizabeth records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle, next to a photograph of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in Windsor, Britain, December 23, 2021. (Reuters)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle, next to a photograph of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in Windsor, Britain, December 23, 2021. (Reuters)

Inventing puddings and planting trees are just some of the things Britons are invited to do for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, events to mark her 70th anniversary on the throne that culminate in a "blockbuster weekend of celebrations" in June.

The 95-year-old, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, will add another milestone when she marks her Platinum Jubilee in February, with the government planning four days of celebrations from June 2-5.

Buckingham Palace said Britons aged 8 and over were encouraged to apply for a baking competition to find the "perfect Platinum Pudding recipe" dedicated to the queen, while some could also "plant a tree for the Jubilee".

During the long holiday weekend in June, people will be able to see the trooping the color in her birthday parade, a service of thanksgiving in London's St. Paul's Cathedral, a party at the Palace among other events.

In November, culture minister Oliver Dowden said the four days of celebrations would be "a celebration to remember".

Elizabeth, who is also the world's current oldest and longest-reigning monarch, became queen on Feb. 6, 1952, on the death of her father George VI.

In September 2015, she overtook the length of time her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria had spent on the throne, remarking that the historical moment was "not one to which I have ever aspired".

The plans are similar to those which marked the queen's 60th anniversary in 2012 when Britain held four days of events in her honor, including a huge flotilla on the River Thames and capped off with a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace.

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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP

The record-breaking retreat of Antarctic sea ice in 2023 has led to more frequent storms over newly exposed parts of the Southern Ocean, according to a study published Wednesday.
Scientists know that the loss of Antarctic sea ice can diminish penguin numbers, cause ice shelves to melt in warmer waters, and impede the Southern Ocean from absorbing carbon dioxide, AFP reported.
But this new research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, explores another consequence: increased heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere, and an associated rise in storms.
Since 2016 there has been a large-scale reduction in Antarctic sea ice, but nothing like 2023 when a record amount failed to reform over the winter.
For this study, Simon Josey of the UK's National Oceanography Center and colleagues focused on three regions that experienced unusually high levels of sea-ice retreat that year.
Using satellite imagery, ocean and atmospheric data, and wind and temperature measurements, they found some newly ice-free areas experienced double the heat loss compared to a stabler period before 2015.
This was accompanied by "increases in atmospheric-storm frequency" over previously ice-covered regions, the authors found.
"In the sea-ice-decline regions, the June–July storm frequency has increased by up to 7days per month in 2023 relative to 1990–2015."
The loss of heat caused by reduced sea ice could have implications for how the ocean circulates and the wider climate system, the study added.
Oceans are a crucial climate regulator and carbon sink, storing more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped near Earth's surface by greenhouse gas emissions.
In particular, sea-ice retreat could mean changes in how a deeper layer of cold, dense Antarctic bottom water absorbs and stores heat.
The authors said further in-depth analysis of possible climate impacts were needed, including if sea-ice retreat could have even further-reaching consequences.
"Repeated low ice-cover conditions in subsequent winters will strengthen these impacts and are also likely to lead to profound changes further afield, including the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere," it said.