"When the pair, who are researchers at Nottingham Trent University, set out to study how environmental conditions in churches had changed over time, Knight explained that all over the country many organs had notebooks full of data tucked away in their recesses. I would sit at the organ between hymns, or between weddings, said Knight. Quite often, the only thing to look at between services was this little red book that sat in the corner."
"It reflects that churches are being heated, artificially, to a greater extent today than in the past but also that these old buildings are getting warmer even in summer months when heating systems are more likely to be turned off a hint of global heating, said Knight. The average summer temperature for urban churches in the sample was 17.2C during the late 1960s. By the 2020s it had reached 19.8C."
Organ-tuning notebooks kept in churches contain repeated notes of visits and environmental observations, including temperature and humidity. Materials inside pipe organs respond to climatic fluctuations, and such changes can knock instruments out of tune. Eighteen organ-tuning books from churches in London, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire include records dating back to 1966. The records show an increase in average indoor temperatures during both winter and summer periods. Increased artificial heating contributes to higher winter temperatures, while warmer summer readings indicate broader warming. Average summer temperatures rose from about 17.2C in the late 1960s to 19.8C by the 2020s.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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