Coming to terms with Mother Earth

THE rains have arrived and none too soon. In fact, by all counts, wishes and current farm devastation, very late. Climate change is upon us and every ordinary climate event is skewed toward giving its worst effect. If it is summer heat, it is unusually hot, hotter than previous summers’ experience of high temperature. It is also longer than normal, making it take on a devastating presence. This year, the unbearable heat commenced before the middle of March and went on to higher and higher levels all of April and most of May. The El Niño phenomenon that has come is one of the very worst El Niño events experienced within living memory. Now we are told that its opposite, La Niña, is not far behind, with warnings of intensive rains that surely will turn to floods, cause landslides, destroy crops. From one extreme to the other.

World meteorological information echoes what we are experiencing. Hotter temperatures, icebergs melting, oceans rising, coastal areas inundated. And more to come.