The confusion of summer seasons
NOT many people may know this, but we have two autumns. The meteorological one started on September 1 and will end on November 30. The astronomical autumn starts today and ends on December 22.
Adding confusion is the occasional Indian Summer, which is usually a spell of warm, quiet and hazy weather in October in the northern hemisphere, although in Britain, any time the sun shines after a lousy August, is given the name.
The phrase actually comes from the United States in the 18th century and the racial reference is to Native American Indians. It can also mean a time in a person’s life when they recover or re-live the sort of happiness they had only previously known in their youth. As I consider that I have never grown up, I have yet to experience such a period.
What we call an Indian Summer, which is three days of mediocre sunshine in September which allows late games of cricket to take place, should not be confused with a summer in actual India. This lasts from March to
June, which is the hottest month of the year with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius or 113 degrees Fahrenheit, which is enough to make most Brits self-ignite. Let’s hope, even with climate change, we never get that here.
Whichever way you look at it, we are now in autumn and already dusting down our big coats for the bad weather ahead. But you can make your own choice for winter. The meteorological calendar says winter will start December 1 and end February 29 (2020 is a Leap Year); while the astronomical calendar proclaims winter will start on December 22 and last until March 20.
I’m not daft. I’m choosing to live my life by the met calendar and look forward to an early spring on the first day of March.