Weather forecasts once gave Britons something safe to chat about. Not any more, and that’s a problem for the experts – indeed, for all of us, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Weather forecasts once gave Britons something safe to chat about. Not any more, and that’s a problem for the experts – indeed, for all of us, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Our once-mild climate is increasingly extreme – and how we talk about it is now another front in the culture wars, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett