<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/29/australia-winter-weather-august-heat-record-climate-change>
"These unseasonal late-winter days of warmth and clear skies, of the sudden
necessity of shorts and T-shirts for the morning dog walk, are at once glorious
and somewhat disconcerting.
Spring – the season of renewal, of awakening, of birth and perhaps rebirth –
demands to be celebrated. But somehow this year, all of its ridiculously early
harbingers feel double-edged for their presaging of the realities of climate
change and sea-level rise.
Twenty years ago, perhaps even 10, it was a (reasonably) safe bet to book a ski
holiday in the Australian alps for the September school holidays. You could set
your calendar around a certain level of climactic and seasonal certainty. Today
you wouldn’t hazard a booking for September; June and July are risky enough.
And by the time you came off-piste in September back then, the lawns at home
would need cutting and the outdoor furniture dusting off. I mowed our patch of
pointless lawn on Sunday. I can see it growing already.
Once, not too long ago, late September or early October were pretty much the
start of barbecue season in eastern Australia. But for the past few weeks the
evening winter ambience of Sydney suburbia has been one of late spring – of the
sounds of outdoor dining (chatter, laughter, the clink of cutlery) and the
aromas of charring protein melded with dreamy jasmine scent.
A softness of contrasting light and a hint of warmth might have crept into the
August mornings of yore. But the evenings were still for woolly jumpers, Uggs,
doonas and closed bedroom windows. And, if you ventured out, a layer or two
under a warm jacket.
Now we are kicking off the doonas, opening the windows and doors."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
