It’s all about the weather…
The recent hot weather over Easter and the torrential rain we experienced in Spain are most likely linked events, caused by three (and a bit) factors.
Firstly, and the most obvious one, is climate change. This has been on the news more than unusual over the last 2 weeks due to the Extinction Rebellion protests in London, as well as 16-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg speeches alerting this generation to the destruction they have caused to the world that their children and grandchildren will inherit.
The last few years are testament to this, with Spain experiencing hotter and hotter summers like 2015 and 2017’s “Lucifer” heat waves making for unbearable sleepless nights. The weather is certainly a characteristic we Brits like to moans about, whether it’s too wet, too cold or too hot!
Secondly, are the ocean temperatures over the North Atlantic Ocean. The temperature here sets the position for a narrow band of wind called the Jet Stream, which plays a massive role in European weather. Evidence suggests that this typically pulls hotter wind from over the ocean and stops the UK and northern Europe from experiencing freezing and prolonged winters. Last year’s hot and long summer can be attributed to the warmer than usual ocean temperature between the Gulf of Mexico and Northern Africa, causing a persistent area of high pressure over Europe and cooler temperatures and bad weather towards Iceland, all due to the Jet Stream being forced further north.
Thirdly, weather patterns in the Southern Pacific Ocean, El Niño and La Niña, can also affect weather in Europe. El Niño years are associated with warmer ocean temperatures here, which broadly lead to droughts and forest fires in Australia and the surrounding areas, floods and landslides and poor fishing hauls in South America due to a lack of nutrients in the ocean. La Niña, on the other hand is linked with cooler waters in the South Pacific, broadly associated with cooler and wetter weather in the Pacific Basin. Closer to home, some suggest that La Niña can be attributed to the infamous “Beast from the East” cold spell in the UK last year. However, although scientists know this weather pattern does have global implications, there is no evidence supporting specific impacts.
Lastly and most logically, Easter fell very late this year in the UK (practically the beginning of summer), so it was always more likely to be a hotter one.
Ultimately, as summers become hotter, longer and drier, and winters become colder, and rainfall becomes more extreme, it is harder to predict what the weather will be doing on a daily basis- the weather app on my phone seems to change every time I look at it!
Whilst we are told that climate change will cause the end of civilisation as we know it, I question how much impact recycling my wine bottles will have when looking over at China and India, the pollution and emissions caused by their rapid industrialisation and excessive car driving means often they cannot breathe properly outside in some areas. I do feel a little smug that I drive a hybrid, purchasing it 13 years ago when all this car pollution debate wasn’t quite so prominent. However, it was still in its infancy and when the lithium battery needed replacing, one week after the warranty expired may I add, I was shocked – understatement, to be told that a new one would set me back over €3,000! Had the salesman shared this with me when I was purchasing the car I guarantee I would never have opted for a hybrid. Thankfully the cost has now come down but for those looking to go the hybrid route, do check the cost of a new battery. By the way, I managed, after much searching to locate a company in Madrid that sold reconditioned ones … but it still set me back over €800!
Whilst it is all good and well, being encouraged to give up meat and become a hip vegan in the name of saving the planet, how much impact is my weekly steak (ok I admit I eat meat probably 3/4 times a week) really going to have in the grand scheme of things? Until then, I’ll carry on recycling my glass and plastic even though it means 3 trips to 3 different bins, but I feel like I am doing my bit for the kids.