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Michael Fish spent more than 30 years broadcasting on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ before retiring in October 2004.

He is convinced about global warming, the impact of humans on it and that we can take measures to make a difference.

He said: "It's certainly a genuine phenomenon and it's certainly happening right now. I mean here we are, the middle of March, I'm standing out here in my shirt sleeves and I'm feeling really warm.

"A month ago I was down on the south coast, I sat outside in a restaurant and had my lunch – the middle of February, now how often can you do that."

He said: "The main message I try and get across to people is that it's the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, that's my terminology.

"Because there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that more people are going to die as a result of it than anything else and that equally applies to the north of England because come 30/40 years time the sort of summers that we had last year and back in 2003, that is likely to be considered the norm or even cool and thousands of people died as a result of those summers and the same is going to happen in the years ahead."

He believes there is very little we can do about it at the moment, and while we can slow it down, we can't stop it.

And he is in no doubt that global warming is to do with the actions of humans.

He said: "There is no doubt, and the recent IPCC report that came out about a month or so ago is unequivocal, it is definitely, definitely to do with human activity and that of course means burning of fossil fuels, more particularly power stations, but you and I are causing it as well."

Insulation in the home

Hurricanes and floods

He urged people to take measures to help including steps like changing lightbulbs and insulating homes and said while they might make a little difference individually, together they count for more.

He believes it is governments who need to make the big moves and, while he doesn't want to see a barrier to up-and-coming industrial countries like China and India developing, he would like to see developed western countries help them develop cleaner and renewable energy sources.

He said he finds it difficult to understand why some people do not accept the issue with situations like Hurricane Katrina and the various floods, which he said if taken separately, might not point to global warming but when taken together did.

He said: "How on earth you can refuse to accept it I don't know, the science are there everywhere.

"The last 10 years have been the warmest on record, we have had vast storms like Katrina, floods, tornados in this country. I mean you just can't ignore it, it is there all around virtually day by day."

His forecast for the coming years is for the winters to continue to get milder and wetter and summers hotter and drier, more heat waves and floods.

He said despite all the negative aspects, there were some good points as far as agriculture is concerned because for a time the country would become more fertile because of the warmer, milder winters which would mean better and different crops.

However, in the longer term it could be that southern parts of the country begin to suffer from drought and heat stress. He said the north of the country would fare better than the south.