Transcripts For BBCNEWS Review 2019 20240713

Three members of a british family have drowned at a Holiday Resort on the Costa Del Sol. Spanish police are investigating. Crowds gather at sandringham, where the queen will lead members of the royal family at their traditional Christmas Day service. The dean of Westminster Abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. Hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. Now, pallab ghosh looks back on how the frontiers of science and space were pushed in 2019 a year shaped by the impact of deforestation and Climate Change in review 2019 the year in science. This is the year we saw the first ever picture of a black hole and we celebrated one of humanitys greatest achievements. Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. There was a new treatment for parkinsons disease. It enabled this woman to walk again. There were also fires raging in australia. Youll need rescuing, wont you . We saw the hottest summers on record across the globe. And Climate Change activist Greta Thunberg had this message for World Leaders. How dare you you have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. What a year its been. Welcome to a year in science, where well be looking at the biggest stories of 2019. There was, of course, one issue that dominated. That was Climate Change. Not so long ago, people thought of it as a theoretical issue. But this year, we began to see the impact of a threat thats all too real. Australia is enduring a bushfire crisis that has destroyed many homes, killing several people. Bushfires happen here regularly. Hell need rescuing, wont he . Blazes in New South Wales and queensland have never occurred on such a scale and so early in the fire season. Its led many to ask how closely the fires can be linked to Climate Change. In venice, the problem was flooding. It left much of the italian city underwater. Many of the ancient citys historic landmarks were damaged and there are also fears of structural damage to its famous cathedral, st marks basilica. The citys mayor said he believes that the flooding is a direct result of Climate Change. There was a similar concern with the recent floods in the uk, in south yorkshire. There were scorching heatwaves across europe with unusually high temperatures in the Arctic Circle as well. 0ne researcher told us he was concerned about the trend of increasingly hotter summers. This is worrying because this is a new level of temperature extreme, and the regional impacts of that are likely to be unprecedented in some regions. So we are likely to see things that we have not seen in over the hundred years of observational records. There was another threat to our climate from the most unlikely of places bizarrely, from the sources that are supposed to be helping to save the planet renewables. These, like all electricity networks, use a gas called sf6 in their switches and relays for safety reasons. This is what would happen if they didnt. But the gas that keeps us safe is harming the climate. Its much more damaging than Carbon Dioxide and its leaking out into the atmosphere. Matt mcgrath discovered that the problem is getting much worse because of the increased use of sf6 in the growing number of Renewable Energy electricity networks. This new wind farm, being built off the coast of east anglia, is one of the first and largest in the world constructed without sf6. However, there are limitations. The turbines here are connected to this substation and that still relies on the gas. But engineers are working to find alternatives to the use of sf6. In one of the worlds last pristine environments, the arctic, researchers discovered that the snow is contaminated with plastic and rubber and clothing fibres. Theyre microscopic, so you cant see them. But as Roger Harrabin discovered, the snow is infused with them more than 10,000 particles in each litre. Given the amount of pollution in the atmosphere, its perhaps hardly surprising that were finding microplastics in snow. But we have such a strong belief in the essential purity of this stuff that some people will find this news rather shocking. Its both surprising and upsetting that such a desolate location is so polluted. Researchers believe that the particles have been blown here from Populated Areas in europe and north america. Up here, you look around you every day and you see something that you think is the pristine arctic, as its called, and its not any more. And we see it every day and its really, really sad. There were also fires in the amazon forest in the summer. Brazils space agency said that there was an 85 increase in fires in 2019, the worst in brazilian amazon history since 2010. Some thought it to be deliberate in order to create more farmland. The fires have made the problem of the rapid deforestation much worse, as my colleague David Shukman reported when he travelled there. Its hard to believe, but an area the size of a football pitch is being cleared every single minute. What that means is that forest that could cover more than 2,000 pitches is just vanishing every day. And all the signs are that this rate of devastation will accelerate. Air travel has one of the most damaging impacts on the climate, and so there were calls for us to reduce the number of flights we take. Among the protesters was Greta Thunberg, who, to make the point, travelled to Climate Conferences by boat. She departed from plymouth on a racing yacht built for speed, as Justin Rowlett discovered. The valencia is all about speed. Look at her shes just a giant sail attached to a super light carbon fibre hull. She basically bounces through the waves, sometimes dives right through them. It is. Whoa it is a very rough ride. Its a very wet ride. And to be honest, im not sure. Whoa . That i could take two weeks of this. Look, if were honest, one person giving up flying doesnt make any difference in a world of 8 billion people, so what is the point . I mean, the point, ithink, is to sort of create an opinion. By stop flying, you dont only reduce your own Carbon Footprint, but also, that sends a signal to other people around you that, i mean, the Climate Crisis is a real thing, and that also pushes a political movement. When she arrived at the un conference on Climate Change, she found new yorkers sweltering in the unseasonable september sunshine. Inside, World Leaders gathered to discuss action on Climate Change. She had this angry message for them. You all come to us young people for hope. How dare you you have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. You are failing us. And she had a scowl for president trump. He once described Climate Change as a hoax, and hes withdrawing the us from the paris climate accord, which is an International Agreement to reduce damaging Greenhouse Gas emissions. Greta thunberg has inspired children across the world to put climate before classroom, calling school strikes in protest at what they feel to be a lack of action to tackle Climate Change. In the low lying South Pacific island of vanuatu, protests from those most at risk from rising sea levels. In india, schoolchildren made themselves heard. Chanting and it was a similar story in australia. Well, the younger a person is, the more that the change in climate will impact them as they grow and the less of a voice theyre given today. Considering we have such a short amount of time to turn this issue around, its vital that young people are at the forefront of this conversation because they will be impacted more than anyone else. And there was the emergence of a new Environmental Campaign group, extinction rebellion. Among the protesters was the actress dame emma thompson, who was criticised for her own jetsetting lifestyle. U nfortu nately, sometimes i have to fly. But i dont fly nearly as much as i did because of my Carbon Footprint and i plant a lot of trees. I bloody dont, no its always turned back on the individual. Youre the one who flies, youre the one whos using it, youre the one. The fact of the matter is everyone has been asking for clean energy for decades. If i could fly cleanly, i would this vast room is the herbarium at kew gardens. Its essentially a library of more than 7 million plant specimens. This one was discovered by Charles Darwin himself in 1835. A lot of them are now extinct and many more of them are on their way out because of Climate Change. But its not all doom and gloom. Scientists are beginning to develop solutions to what many are calling the Climate Crisis. But they say we have to act soon because time is running out. The atmosphere is already so full of c02 that some scientists worry that even sharp reductions in emissions wont, on their own, be enough to halt irreversible damage. So researchers here at Cambridge University are looking at ideas, however crazy, to try and take Global Warming gases out of the atmosphere and to actually repair the earths climate. With trillions of tonnes of ice gone from both the earths poles, the new centre will look at ways of refreezing them. One idea is to have boats spray sea water up into the clouds above the ice to reflect sunlight away from them. Another is to develop forests of artificial trees to absorb Carbon Dioxide just like real forests do, only better. And some even think releasing shiny discs into space might act as a parasol, reflecting sunlight and cooling the planet. Its all the idea of a former government chief scientific adviser. We are looking for processes that are scalable, by which i mean processes that can take out billions of tonnes of Greenhouse Gases each year. Although our planet and the climate dominated the agenda, there are plenty of other inspirational science stories. The exhibits here at the science museums wonderlab are literally out of this world, and thats where well be going for the next part of our review of the year. This is a first ever picture of a black hole. Its more than 3 million times the size of the earth. This is one of the telescopes that captured the image, on top of a mountain in southern spain, seemingly touching the clouds. The instrument is one of a Global Network of dishes from across the world which will link together. No single telescope is powerful enough to see the black hole, but by adding together the information from each of them, the image gradually becomes sharper. You can actually see black holes you know, thats crazy i always thought this is just way beyond what we can be doing. This is a super heavyweight champion among the black holes in the universe. This image will help astronomers learn more about space, time and our own existence. Researchers also began the most ambitious study of the universe ever undertaken. They did so in order to learn about a mysterious substance called dark energy. What we see here on earth in the stars and galaxies are made of atoms. That accounts for just 5 of the universe. The rest is mostly dark energy. In order to understand what this force is, weve got to go back all the way to the beginning of the universe. After the big bang, according to the current theory, the expansion of the universe ought to be slowing down and eventually collapsing back in on itself under the pressure of gravity. But instead, the galaxies are flying apart faster than ever. Scientists call the force behind this expansion dark energy, but they havent got a clue what it is. They plan to find out using this telescope. It will track the position and acceleration of 35 million galaxies. We also celebrated whats arguably humanitys greatest achievement. This is one of the capsules used in nasas moon programme. 50 years ago, the world watched in awe as the first people set foot on the lunar surface. In the dawns early light, the saturn 5 rocket shimmers on the launch pad. Three astronauts get ready for a mission that will propel them, and the rest of humanity, into a new era. Now departing on the start of its eight mile trip to launchpad a here at complex 39. Commander Neil Armstrong leads edwin buzz aldrin and mike collins into the spacecraft. Here, theyre in the suit up room. You really do look a lot like him, dad. Yeah, thanks. Mark armstrong was just six at the time. Now hes reliving it with his daughter carly. Aw, dad cute as a button we have lift off. Neil armstrong reporting the roll and pitch programme, which puts apollo 11 on a proper heading. A few days later, the spacecraft approaches the lunar surface. Tranquility base here. The eagle has landed. Roger, tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. Were breathing again. Thanks a lot. Im going to step off now. Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Good job, grandpa. Its very pretty out here. Through Neil Armstrongs eyes, they saw what he saw. In 1969, he was looking back at the earth and seeing it as a fragile resource. I wasnt alive, of course, for it, and so getting to relive it in my own generation is really, really special. Since those heady days, 90 of astronauts have been men. But in 2019, the space age took another small step into the modern age. Flight engineers Christina Koch and jessica meir made history as they stepped out of the International Space station. Their mission involved routine maintenance but there was nothing routine about it, as they became the first all female spacewalking team in more than half a century of space travel. We hope that we can provide an inspiration to everybody, not only women, but to everybody that has a dream, that has a big dream and that is willing to work hard to make that dream come true. But 2019 wasnt all about space. There was a breakthrough in the treatment of parkinsons disease, the eradication of a deadly virus from the face of the earth and one of my personal favourites, the researchers who are tackling malaria by learning how to speak to mosquitoes. For us, the sound is annoying. But for the mosquito, its a love song. The buzz is made by the wing beats. It helps the insects find mates and to reproduce. So what if we could learn how to talk mosquito and sabotage their mating cycle, to stop the spread of deadly diseases . The mosquitos buzz is created by the insects wings. This is a sound of the female on the left. Look closely and you can see that her wing beat is slower than the males, here on the right, and that is why her tone is slightly different. Joerg albert is studying how to turn the mosquitos buzz against them. We could simulate these sounds, use them for new technological devices to perform attraction of mosquitoes, to lure them away from sites where they can transmit disease for example, from populations, from households or also to catch them, kill them. So catch and kill devices could be designed. This is the rinderpest virus, relentlessly destroying the cells of a cow. More than 100 years ago, it killed nearly 90 of the cattle in sub saharan africa, and with that came famine and mass starvation. Millions died. It was eradicated in the wild in 2011, but thousands of samples of the virus remained in labs across the world. In 2019, the very last batch was sent to a High Pressure oven to be superheated and destroyed. Three, two, one there was also a big medical breakthrough. This is the first time gail has walked with her husband, stan, for two years. She has parkinsons disease and its meant that, until now, she would freeze while she was walking and fall down. An experimental electrical implant around her spine has restored her movement. The sensors on her suit and socks monitor her improvements. I can walk better. I have more confidence. And overall health, it feels better. I used to fall at least two times a day, sometimes. But now i havent fallen in over two months. Normal walking involves the brain sending instructions to the legs to move. It then receives signals back when the movement has been completed and then sends instructions for the next step. The researchers believe that parkinsons disease reduces the signals coming back. The implant boosts that signal and so prevents freezing. Whats really surprised the researchers is that the treatment is long lasting and works even when the implant is turned off. Scientists discovered a treasure trove of dinosaur remains. This place is where the giant lizards came to die. From the fossils, researchers have reconstructed what life was once like here. It was home to a fearsome carnivorous allosaurus, eight metres long and weighing two and a half tonnes. And herds of plant eating diplodocus also grazed on this land. Before that, this place was a vast inland sea where marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs were abundant. Rebecca morelle joined the reptile dig in northern wyoming. Standing here, you really get a sense of the size of this creature. Its a type of sauropod, which, from nose to tail, measured 30 metres long. And scientists think it might even be a species thats new to science. These critically endangered young black rhinos were all born in european zoos. Theyre descendants of animals that were taken decades ago from africa. Now, theyre about to go home. Victoria gill went to meet them at a safari park in the czech republic, before they set off on theirjourney to rwanda and were released into the wild. They are looking pretty content, munching on their breakfast. And these are three of the five animals that are going to be taken to rwanda for the reintroduction. And theyre from all over europe. They represent all the countries these animals come from, from denmark, the uk and the czech republic. Also in 2019, we discovered this rarest and oddest of living sharks, living somewhere unexpected. Scientists thought that the angel shark could only been found in the waters of the canary islands, but the discovery of a hundred year old book has changed that view, as helen briggs discovered. This is the book that started the search. Evidence shows sharks like this are still living off the coast of wales. The question is, how many and where . Staying under the sea, this sub has gone where no sub has gone before to the very bottom of the sea, the Pacific Oceans mariana trench. Adventurer Victor Vescovo set a new record for the deepest ever dive, seven miles down. He lands with a thump. At bottom it seemed a bit like being on the moon, but a wet version of it. There were small craters here and there. There were slight undulations. There werent rocks until you got to the southern or northern portions of the mariana trench. It had some variety, but it was quiet. It was peaceful. In the midst of the festive season, our thoughts turn to the year ahead, where climate will continue to dominate the agenda. The onus will be on the uk to help find a political solution as it hosts the next major Climate Conference in glasgow. But there will be plenty of space stories, too, with four missions to mars, three rovers roaming, two orbiters orbiting. And a landing on the martian surface what a year for science its going to be. Merry christmas i may not have been able to bring you a White Christmas this year, but i think, for some of you, after the recent weather, maybe something much better. Dry and sunny weather to dominate Christmas Day. Only one or two showers so far today. It is a bit of a frosty start with showers in Northern Ireland and south west scotland. Most fade for the afternoon, so, for many of you, it is a story of sunshine all the way from dawn till dusk. Light winds as well and, after that chilly start, temperatures, which were 7, 8 in parts of the highlands earlier on, well, they will be at the level they should be at for this time of year, around 5 9 celsius. Moving on to tonight, if you are on the move, a word of caution across parts of england and central and southern scotland in particular, we will see some dense fog patches form quite quickly through the evening during the first half of the night. The second half of the night, the breeze picks up and lifts that into low cloud and then the cloud thickens up towards the south west so, for south west england, wales, Northern Ireland, turning increasingly wet, but these areas also turning increasingly milder. A milder start to boxing day at between 7 10 celsius. Still chilly across the north and east, where the brightest weather will be, with a touch of frost around to take us into the start of the morning. And the big picture for boxing day, weather fronts on the chart, so again, yet more rain. But it shouldnt rain in any one place all day long. The heaviest of the rain, as well, will be first thing, across Northern Ireland, wales and the south west. Brightening up here with sunshine and then some showers later. Rain spreads its way into northern and Eastern England through the morning and into early afternoon and then during the afternoon into central and southern scotland. Across scotland and Northern England on the hills, briefly, a spell of snow, not too much, before that turns back to rain as temperatures start to lift. Chilly for northern and eastern areas, milder weather towards the south west but the breeze will be picking up, touching gale force for one or two later as the showers get going yet again with some heavy hail and thunder. As we go into thursday evening, boxing day evening and into the night, we will see some heavier rain spread its way from west to east. Pinpointing exactly where the heaviest bursts will be is a bit difficult at the moment but it is all linked into this weather front which will slowly push into eastern areas to start friday and then, dragging behind it even milder air, and it will get more of a boost than we see on boxing day. Quite breezy to go with it, too. So for friday there could be some damp, drizzly weather across the eastern half of the country with things brightening up in the west and then at the weekend, a chance of rain for northern and western scotland. This is bbc news, im julian worricker. The headlines at 10 crowds gather at sandringham, where the queen will lead members of the royal family at their traditional Christmas Day service. Prince andrew arrived at an earlier service in sandringham with his brother Prince Charles he recently stepped back from public duties. Three members of a british family have drowned at a Holiday Resort on the Costa Del Sol Spanish Police are investigating. The dean of Westminster Abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. Hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. And in half an hour, our media editor, amol rajan, sits down with the editor of private eye, ian hislop, to take a look back at 2019