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Leaves on the railway lines supposedly costs the UK millions of pounds each year in delays, but how does something so small impact something so large?

The worst weather for causing train delays in autumn is in fact damp weather. As leaves begin to drop off the trees, turbulence of passing trains causes them to get sucked onto the lines.

Strong or brisk winds also play a crucial role in encouraging large leaf fall in short periods of time. When inclement weather then follows a period of windy weather, this causes the leaves to stick to the railway lines.

The leaves then deposit a sap residue on the lines as the heavy train wheels pass over them, causing the tracks to become very slippery.

Consequently, breaking becomes more difficult, along with insufficient traction. A build up of leaves can also cause a loss of track circuit detection.

Many trains end up missing the exact spot at a location they should stop at, termed technically as "station overruns". Network Rail say that "leaves on the line are the rail equivalent of black ice on the roads".

To combat the issue, rail companies use special "Railhead Treatment Trains" that release high-pressured water jets to blast away the leaves, in addition to a gel solution, containing a mix of sand and steel grains, to help them run as usual.

Railway companies often implement different schedules for autumn, enabling extra time for drivers to get their passengers to their destination safely. Keep track of whether the weather will delay your day, via the WeatherRadar.

As a global climate summit closes in New York, an interim report suggests that London is not prepared to handle regular temperatures of 45°C.

After the United Kingdom reached the 40°C mark for the first time in 2022, a study on the country's infrastructure was launched to gauge how well we could handle this being a regular occurrence.

The first results, published earlier this week, suggest that tube lines are not fit for purpose while many schools and care homes require improvements to withstand the harsh temperatures.

In the independent climate resilience report for London, it is also stated that many homes will be too hot in daytime conditions. These temperatures dry vegetation and create a tinderbox ripe for wildfires, as witnessed last July in Wennington.

Speaking in New York at the climate summit, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the report is a sign that we need to adapt to higher temperatures now before it is too late.

Climate Week NYC kicked off last Monday and sees dignitaries from countries around the world gathered to discuss the global climatic situation and plan how to adapt to it.

The event has taken place every year since 2009, this year is coincided with the United Nations' Climate Ambition Summit held on Wednesday.

This is a smaller event held to build momentum towards COP28, due to take place in Dubai in December, where world leaders join forces to build international cooperation towards climate-friendly policies.

The full climate resilience report for London is expected to be published in December.

With talk of Hurricane Nigel arriving to the UK and Ireland this weekend, is it actually possible to get hurricanes here?

In short, no. Hurricanes undergo a process called extratropical transition, where they lose their tropical characteristics, moving out of tropical waters.

Waters surrounding the UK and Ireland are simply not warm enough to sustain tropical storms, and would need to be above the threshold temperature of 26°C.

That being said, we can still receive the remnants of these extratropical storms, or ex-hurricanes, with these retaining their original name, as is the case this weekend with ex-Hurricane Nigel.

Back in 2017 we also had the remnants of ex-hurricane Ophelia, ex-tropical storm Gabrielle in 2019 and ex-hurricane Zeta in 2020, to name a few.

We don't always receive the same weather that the US do, but our weather in the British Isles does often come from the west, due to our prevailing westerly winds.

When our winds are from this direction it's a maritime airmass, often bringing unsettled weather off of the Atlantic.

The jet stream plays an active role in carrying weather systems across the Atlantic, like a conveyor belt. Its position can mean these systems may arrive directly to us if it’s directly overhead, or get deflected to the north or south.

As the climate changes and the Earth and its oceans warm, it's not entirely impossible that the northward distance that hurricanes may be able to travel and retain tropical status, could extend.

As it stands however, the British Isles cannot receive any storms of tropical status. We'll be on the lookout this summer for any remnants of extratropical systems that may affect us, tracking them via our interactive WeatherRadar.

Stormy weather made a return to our shores this week, well and truly heralding the arrival of autumn. You were out to capture the scenes.

With foreboding cloudscapes in Skegness and Ireland, to the more picturesque view of a Ferris wheel as sunset, this week you were out to capture all our weather provided.

If you want to get involved and appear here next week, simply tap the image icon in the app or use our dedicated uploader to submit your own pictures for consideration.

As autumn rolls on, we would love to see the progress of the leaves changing colour near you. Keep us in mind as you snap nature!

A mix of conditions in Italy which has seen flood-hit regions transfer into drought may have a significant impact on vineyards in some regions.

Heavy rainfall in spring resulted followed by hot, dry weather over in recent weeks has combined to produce a development of plasmopara viticola fungus on vine leaves.

The fungus results in a condition known as grape downy mildew and could potentially see a 12% loss of the season's grape harvest, particularly in central Italy, according to wine lobbies and the agricultural institute ISMEA.

Should this happen, Italy would fall behind France as the world's top wine producer. The fungus issue is particularly prevalent in the Abruzzo, Pegulia, and Molise regions along the Adriatic coast.

These regions have already seen a drop in output due to the humid conditions which have allowed the fungus to thrive. Abruzzo has seen a 40% loss of harvest, while Molise is down by 45% compared to last year.

Meanwhile, good weather in France has helped prevent a spread of similar issues, with the year's harvest expected to drop by just 2% year-on-year.

The Italian government has allocated a fund of €1 million for farmers affected by the problem. An issue which may become more common in years to come.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation say that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change and that contingency plans are needed for farmers to cope with the shift in climatic conditions.

Italy has witnessed a fair share of extreme weather events this year, with drought in February seeing the level of Lake Garda drop substantially, revealing a long-lost walking path across the lake. Meanwhile, in August, torrential rainfall resulted in flooding.