It's turned cold these past few mornings, enough to make me put my fleece on and also my snood keeping my neck warm. There was a report on YouTube this morning which stated that between 50 and 70% more people die of cold than of heat and I'd think that's quite true.
I have been in extremes of heat and cold and have to say that when I was at -44C it was quite sobering to feel how cold I was (getting frostbite even though protected). Seven layers plus an insulated suit, googles, balaclavas, gloves etc and it was still pretty cold. I have also been in 44C heat in France, some years ago it was stifling, the local mountain was being water bombed to put out the wildfires. I didn't feel that I was in trouble but it was too hot to work and the swimming pool was very welcome. So which one was I more likely to die from?
I often think that when people tell me the dangers of "global warming" they aren't really thinking straight. A question I've often asked is can you live without any clothes on? By that I mean can you survive in the UK without heating, hot water, clothes and bedding etc. The answer is, of course, no. You would most probably suffer from hypothermia and that's because without the things we use to keep warm we would most probably die. We aren't built for this particular climate because, humans developed in equatorial Africa. They spread around the world and adapted to their environments. Look at the differences between the extremes of those living in the Arctic (Eskimos) and those living in say the Brazilian rain Forrest.
On the few days it is nice weather in the UK you could probably do OK to go without clothes but I doubt you'd feel inclined to forgo clothes overnight unless it is a really hot one in the 20s maybe. It cannot be done. So a 1.5 degree difference isn't going to do anything to make this fact go away. Fifty or more years ago I recall being told that in my lifetime we would have a Mediterranean type climate by now, that vineyards would cover the land and that crops would have to be grown further north. There are, granted, a few vineyards and some award winning wines but really, is it like France? No, we are an Island and we don't have the continental weather as we are a maritime climate. Many centuries back in the Medieval and indeed more so in the Roman period things were a lot warmer but we aren't back to those heady days of increased warmth.
These are my basic "So What?" questions for people who demand "Climate Justice" whatever the hell that is. They spout on about how Greenland and the Arctic will melt etc., yet the Arctic hasn't returned to the condition of the 1930s when you could navigate through in summer. Ask someone to step out of the sunshine on a sunny day and work out what the difference is in terms of degrees C. Well perhaps try it for yourself. You step into shade and you immediately feel, I'd suggest, a good 5 Degrees colder if not more. Without having an accurate measurement you'll not know but you will feel a difference. I very much doubt any of us can tell the temperature to even a few Degrees and I can often tell you when it is over 25 because you can definitely feel it but I doubt I am anywhere near accurate. So 1.5 Degrees isn't really measurable by us humans but if you have a measuring device it is. I defy anyone to actually know what a small 1.5 Degree change is. How about today it is 20 Degrees or 8 Degrees given a maximum and minimum by the Met Office. That's a 12 Degree swing in a day and so why on earth would a 1.5 Degree change in either of those readings give me cause for concern?
So far no one has given me an answer about natural variability either. The weather (it's completely different to climate BTW) can be 4 seasons in a day here in the UK changing rapidly. "Extreme Weather" is used to sell newspapers, headline TV shows and frighten people. We may get a gale for example. It doesn't last for years or days, it's generally over in a few hours such is the nature of these things. It can rain at anytime in the UK. Is it extreme or natural variability, does something that is measured in parts per million have anything to do with it? How can it, basic laws of thermodynamics don't apply to weather and climate goons apparently.
The Labour government here has stripped old people of a winter fuel allowance just as energy prices rise (they aren't in other countries BTW) by ourselves shooting ourselves in the foot over how we make energy. So they take money away, double the bills and expect nothing to change. People will die this winter as they cannot afford to heat their houses etc. I've put in some fuel earlier this year which I hope will last me, I also have my log burner which will be doing a lot of heavy lifting this year as I get it to heat the house as much as I can. Of course they are scaring everyone with fines if your chimney smokes. First of all, they'd have to stop everyone around here not using their fires. They'd also have to make sure it isn't when you are building your fire. The biggest problem is unseasoned wood which does create smoke. I'd normally have my AGA on in the kitchen which can warm the whole house but I'm not sure that the finances can work out on that - I'm doing the maths now on that.
We aren't designed to live in this climate, we need heating, lighting and clothes etc. I think we should welcome a 1.5 Degree increase in heat although, by natural variability it is as likely that we will drop 1.5 Degrees instead of gaining by it.
Oh well, it's cold out here at the moment and Autumn is coming. We will have to wait and see.
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