The sun is out, clouds have receded, it’s the perfect day to explore parks, sunbathe and host a picnic. Only, the temperature has increased dramatically over the years and rather than call this a heatwave, (like we expect it every year), we should call it for what it is – unprecedented, dangerous weather.
“…If a doctor were to consult the Earth, a high fever/extreme heat would be a symptom of climate change…”
The heat we have all been privy to, is a culmination of addiction to fossil fuels, corporate greed and a carefully planned disinformation campaign to split public opinion in order to assist continued spending on ecologically damaging products. Those who accept climate change as fact should not fall to embrace these high temperature, clear sky days as a novelty. But rather, we should see it as an omen of impending doom and a wake-up call to reverse the effects of carbon trapped atmospheric heat.
The arctic region of Siberia is experiencing its hottest ever temperatures and has been made 600 times more likely due to climate change, reaching unprecedented 38c temperatures sparking wildfires and unleashing more carbon emissions than any time in the last 18 years.
“…let’s get one thing clear, this is not a holiday, this is not a heatwave, this is a symptom of climate change and one of the most ominous yet”
Increased temperature is correlated with a rise in heat deaths, and at particular risk are the young and elderly. In the UK over 1,500 heat-related deaths were recorded by the NHS between May to August 2019. Although the death rate is similar to previous years, it is expected that this figure will rise as the planet warms more.
Out of control weather and blasé perceptions of the consequences it will have for future generations will be detrimental, and the entitled opinions we have of the world and that it is a resource to be tampered with, a playground for profit must be intercepted. The stinging heat of the new normal is eradicating what enthusiasm we have left to turn these unsettling developments around. If a doctor were to consult the Earth, a high fever/extreme heat would be a symptom of climate change, and we would not wait until the world looks unrecognisable to treat it.
The science is clear. Climate change is happening, it is anthropogenic and reversible if we act now. If not, we can expect our summers to get hotter and our winters to become unpredictable accompanied with a side of flooding, destitution, mass migration and ramifications that will be fatal. But let’s get one thing clear, this is not normal, this is not a holiday, this is not a heatwave, this is a symptom of climate change and one of the most clear cut and ominous yet.
Stanisland Magazine 