Evening Standard, on Climate, 26 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

as Storm Boelo continues to hit travel

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.3 findings

Flights from Gatwick and Heathrow were thrown into fresh chaos as Storm Boelo battered the UK, grounding more than 100 flights nationwide and forcing the sudden cancellation of some of the capital's landmark weekend events. Heathrow has borne the brunt of the disruption in London, with short-haul networks heavily impacted. Gatwick officials urged passengers not to travel without checking their flight status first, warning high winds are creating hazardous conditions.

The severe weather follow hots on the heels of Storm Austen, which struck on Friday. Flights across the South East have faced restricted air traffic control spacing, causing a cascade of cancellations and leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Beyond the runways, the stormy conditions forced the last-minute cancellation of London's annual Diwali and the Square celebrations. Independent health and safety experts advised the Greater London Authority that on Saturday made it entirely unsafe to build and set up the staging in Trafalgar Square for Sunday's festival.

The following flights scheduled for Sunday were confirmed as cancelled: British Airways BA1438 Heathrow to Edinburgh British Airways BA304 Heathrow to Paris CDG British Airways BA562 Heathrow to Rome British Airway BA1320 Heathrow to Aberdeen LoganAir LM676 Heathrow to Isle of Man Riyadh Air RX9402 Heathrow to Gassim Emirates EK064 Heathrow to Dubai Easyjet EJU8015 Gatwick to Amsterdam Easyjet EZU6427 Gatwick to Jersey Lufthansa LH901 Gatwick to Frankfurt AirFrance AF1681 Gatwick to Paril CDG Aer Lingus I157 Gatwick to Dublin Vueling VY7821 Gatwick to Barcelona The following flights scheduled for Monday have also been cancelled: • 11.45am British Airways BA1468 Heathrow to Glasgow • 12.15pm British Airways BA1308 Heathrow to Aberdeen • 5.10pm British Airways BA1376 Heathrow to Manchester Airlines have adjusted schedules to prevent a complete gridlock of the network.

While the worst of the 85mph gusts are tracking across Scotland and northern England, the outer bands of the weather system restricted flight volumes into London. There was also widespread disruption on the railways. Network Rail Scotland shared an image of flooding from the tracks to the platform in one Glasgow station, and fallen trees above the lines near another. Speed restrictions were in place across Scotland and several sections of its railways were closed, the operator added.

It came after Network Rail posted photographs of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, in a call for those living near rail lines to firmly secure their garden furniture. Collapsed trees, cables on carriageways, strong winds and damaged surfaces prompted closures to major roads in Scotland. The amber Met Office warning zone includes Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England. It sits within a yellow wind warning zone that reaches further south and runs until 9pm, while another in Northern Ireland lifted at midday.

Storm Boelo follows Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought strong winds to southern parts of the UK on Friday. Gusts of 76mph were recorded at St Mary’s Airport in the Isles of Scilly, with 74mph at Aberporth in south Wales and 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall. Storm Boelo was bringing a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and people should stay indoors as much as possible, the Met Office warned.

Left out here: Drops what it reported before

The article never says that a 60-year-old man was killed by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway during Storm Boelo, which the Standard itself reported the day before. Nor does it give the power cuts to hundreds of thousands of properties. Without these facts a reader believes the storm caused travel disruption and cancelled events but no deaths.

How we know

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 34 flood warnings and 11 flooding alerts were active as of the same time.

Read the original article on standard.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
What we found (3)

The Evening Standard reports Storm Boelo almost entirely as a travel story and never says that warming makes heavy rainfall and flooding of this kind worse. It also leaves out the man killed by a falling tree during the storm, which the Standard reported the day before, so a reader sees cancelled flights and festivals but not the storm's human cost. The headline's 'All the Heathrow and Gatwick flights cancelled' can read as every flight grounded, when the body lists about 16 specific cancellations.

  1. Leaves out the climate link

    Serious

    “The Environment Agency had issued five warnings that flooding is expected for spots in northern parts of England as of 11am, as well as 33 alerts where it is possible.”

    Why this matters
    The Standard lists the flood warnings and alerts the storm brought but gives no word on why such flooding is growing more likely.
    The impression it gives
    A reader comes away believing this flooding is ordinary bad weather with no link to a warming climate.
    The context
    Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. The article never mentions climate change or warming anywhere.

    How we know

    • On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.
    • Elsewhere in the article“34 flood warnings and 11 flooding alerts were active”

    Show it in the article

    “heavy gales and persistent downpours”

    Why this matters
    The Standard names the heavy rain that forced a major London festival to be cancelled, but treats it as a scheduling problem only.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes the downpours as a one-off inconvenience that tells them nothing about the wider climate.
    The context
    Warming is loading the dice towards heavier downpours like these. One short line saying so would have given the reader that context, and the article has none.

    How we know

    • On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “warming”.

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The Environment Agency had issued five flood warnings for northern England. Climate change is making heavy rainfall and flooding like this more frequent and more severe.

  2. Headline goes beyond the article

    Minor

    “All the Heathrow and Gatwick flights cancelled”

    Why this matters
    The headline says 'All the Heathrow and Gatwick flights cancelled', which can read as every flight at both airports grounded.
    The impression it gives
    A reader skimming the headline may believe Heathrow and Gatwick shut down entirely.
    The context
    The body lists about 16 specific cancelled flights and says airlines adjusted schedules to prevent a complete gridlock, so most flights still ran.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“The following flights scheduled for Sunday were confirmed as cancelled”
    • Elsewhere in the article“Airlines have adjusted schedules to prevent a complete gridlock of the network”

    Show it in the article

  3. Drops what it reported before

    Minor

    What is missing

    The article never says that a 60-year-old man was killed by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway during Storm Boelo, which the Standard itself reported the day before. Nor does it give the power cuts to hundreds of thousands of properties. Without these facts a reader believes the storm caused travel disruption and cancelled events but no deaths.

    How we know

    Show where it belongs

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