Daily Star, on Climate, 25 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Man dies after being hit by falling tree as Storm Boelo batters Britain

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.1 finding

A man has died after being hit by a falling tree during Storm Boelo. The horror happened near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland at around 10.30am on Sunday. Police Scotland said the man, who was in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene in Mid Kelton. A spokesman said: "There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course." It comes after Met Office weather warnings were put in place for much of the UK as the deadly storm brought strong winds and heavy rain.

Travellers faced chaos as dozens of flights were cancelled at airports across the country. Edinburgh Airport had 81 cancelled flights and has reported 11 flights diverted to other airports since the start of the weather warnings on Saturday. Some flights were diverted from landing at Leeds Bradford Airport and others were cancelled. An airport spokesperson thanked customers for their patience, adding: “We appreciate that this is a challenging situation.

Our teams are working in very difficult conditions to support passengers as best they can.” Meanwhile, a car collided with a fallen tree In Huddersfield, West Yorks., and a broken yacht washed ashore at Loch Long, north-west of Glasgow, on Saturday afternoon. Met Office warnings are in place across the UK for high winds – with gusts of up to 85 mph in parts of the country.

An amber alert for wind is in place until 9pm tonight. All of Scotland is covered by the Met Office weather warning and . Business owner Toni Dawson said the water was at its “highest level ever”. Footage showed floodwater coursing around the town of Largs, North Ayrshire, on Sunday. Staff at its Thai restaurant Tha-Tien-Thai shared a video of their kitchen over-run by water with the caption: “There is nothing left.”

It closed its doors for the foreseeable “due to larger flood restoration than originally planned”. Scottish government ministers and officials have gathered this afternoon to discuss the "ongoing impact" of the storm. A statement released by the Scottish government says that while conditions may ease later today, there's potential for adverse weather to return in the coming days. Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville says people should keep up to date on the impact the conditions are having in their local area.

Transport Scotland's Stuart Wilson adds: "The weekend of storms has brought challenges across the transport network and, in some cases, there will be significant recovery work required before we have the network back to normal." The storm eased to the east on Sunday evening after pummelling northern parts of the UK.

Read the original article on dailystar.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
What we found (1)

The Daily Star reports a man's death from a falling tree during Storm Boelo, along with high rainfall totals in the Highlands, a town submerged by floodwater and widespread travel disruption. It never tells the reader that a warming climate makes heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more severe.

  1. Leaves out the climate link

    Serious

    “High rainfall totals have also been recorded in the Scottish Highlands with Cluanie Inn receiving 130mm and 111mm in Affric Lodge.”

    Why this matters
    The Daily Star reports extreme rainfall totals of 130mm and 111mm as plain weather figures, with no word anywhere in the article on climate change or warming.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes the deluge as a one-off quirk of the weather with no wider cause.
    The context
    Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more severe. The article never says so, even in one line.

    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”, “warming” and “climate change”.

    Show it in the article

    “the town of Largs was completely submerged by water at high tide”

    Why this matters
    The Daily Star reports a whole town flooded, with a business owner saying the water reached its highest level ever, and gives no climate context for the flooding.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes record flooding in Largs is simply what storms do, unconnected to a warming climate.
    The context
    Warming loads the dice towards heavier rain and worse floods. The article reports record water levels elsewhere but never mentions that link.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“the water was at its “highest level ever””
    • 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)

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    High rainfall totals were recorded in the Scottish Highlands, with Cluanie Inn receiving 130mm. Climate change is making heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense.

Spot something we missed? Report this article

More from Daily Star

  1. 26 OctBBC Breakfast's Jon Kay announces two deaths in Storm Boelo update3.0
  2. 26 OctWarning issued as Britain faces third storm in five days – worst affected areas here3.0
  3. 24 OctGB News reporter fights to stay on air as Storm Boelo unleashes chaos across Britain3.0
  4. 23 OctStorm Austen leaves 19,000 homes without power as emergency services struggle to cope0.0
  5. 23 OctStorm Austen school closures: Full list as 80mph winds bring 'danger to life' warning3.0

Everything we scored from Daily Star