Heatwaves

We are in yet another heatwave. In my younger days, I used to love hot weather. I have fond memories of very hot weather in Italy, when I was on holiday there back in the 1960s. Like now, there was talk of football, as we were getting close to the 1966 World Cup.

In more recent years Liz and I spent many happy summer holidays on Greek islands. It was often very hot in Crete, but it was a scorching dry heat, with little humidity. We spent some time in the shade eating cherries and drinking retsina. We also walked on high ground, through forests and along ravines, then cooling down with a swim in the clear blue sea. Those were happy days.

I don’t enjoy heatwaves now, particularly those that come with high humidity, like the ones in the last two months. I have tried to follow the advice for older people: stay indoors with windows closed and curtains drawn. You can watch daytime TV, with adverts for holidays in hot places!

You are supposed to drink lots of water and lay off beer and wine. Quite a depressing business. Being indoors all day with no ventilation leads to stuffy rooms lacking in ventilation.

Fortunately, it has been cool enough in early morning when I water my garden. I also have a few shady places out of doors, where I can sit and drink coffee, watching the wildlife such as butterflies and pollinators on sage blossom and lilac. They don’t seem to mind the heat. I also saw a fat pigeon eating my raspberries: I had been wondering what had happened to them.

I was complaining to a friend about the heat. Her response was that we are always complaining about the weather. “We will soon be saying it is too cold or wet.” My complaint was, however, really about climate change, bringing extremes of weather: heatwaves, wildfires, violent storms and flooding several times in a season. I hope we never get to runaway climate change, with the methane (the potent greenhouse gas) escaping from under the Arctic ice.

I wonder about the effects on climate change of all the dreadful wars raging on in the world. Just how much fossil fuels are fighter aircraft, missiles and drones burning up every day? I think about the buildings on fire and oil refineries ablaze. More Co2 everywhere.

Well, I only have to cope with a heatwave. The brave people in Ukraine and in the Middle East and elsewhere have much worse horrors to face.

Post Views : 52