CLIMATE - SUMMER HEAT
Why many fail to view this as a serious matter
Living in the UK, one thing we really like to do is to talk about the weather, I know it's my first go-to for small talk! We often forget how fortunate we are to live in a climate that has four seasons, and we're lucky enough to generally reap the benefits of all weathers on a moderate level.
However, this recent week in particular has been a time of extreme heat, temperatures breaking records, and causing fires across the country. Yet we still have many politicians and people of media interest, who claim that global warming do not exist, or is still not an important matter. Regardless that scientists have been warning us about the dangers we are putting ourselves into over the past 40 years and more, and here we are sitting in soaring heat.
Our country understandably came to a standstill on Tuesday, when a Red Alert was given for a large portion of the UK. Train tracks buckled under the heat, and large stretches of road started to either crack or melt. As a country we are not prepared for such drastic weather changes. We also don't have a siesta culture to keep ourselves out of dangerous sun levels, and work our days accordingly. Therefore, we found ourselves with many services paused that day to prevent staff working in the extreme hot outdoors.
So, why do we still have politicians claiming that we are being too soft and too sensitive about a "little bit of heat."
We have a longing relationship with the sun. Through the media, we are shown pictures of exotic countries with blazing heat, and for many, we have a history of choosing to tan our skin to look darker, and "sun-kissed". So much so, that many ignore the danger warnings of the rays from the sun, and deliberately avoid wearing the appropriate sun-screen in extreme sun exposure.
So when we're told we're getting above 20 degree heat in this country, we welcome it. As a one-off alert-warning of 40 degrees, we conveniently choose to ignore the reasons behind why we have got to a point of having these unheard-of temperatures, "let's just enjoy the sun where we can". With tempestuous weathers across the globe from floods to droughts, when will enough be enough?
With no water, we have no crops. For those of us who listen, it is incredibly overwhelming in how to move forward. What will it take for our government to realise the impact of our actions and create change?
Whilst we can enjoy the sun safely when we get it, we also cannot ignore what is happening to our planet. Let's continue to ask questions, make change. No action is too small when we have collective power!