Forest fires have forced people out of their homes in La Palma, Canary Islands. In South Korea people are trapped in a flooded tunnel. In Greece, the Acropolis has been closed temporarily between 11.30am and 5.30pm to protect tourists from dangerous temperatures, risk of dehydration and sunstroke. More crazy stuff making life difficult.
The European Space Agency said the highest recorded temperature in European history – 48.8C in Floridia, Sicily, on 11 August 2021 – could be beaten this week. And land surface temperature – how hot the ground is to touch – hit more than 50C on eastern slopes of Sicily last week, 45C in Rome and Naples and 46C and 47C in Madrid and Seville.
Finally, last Monday, the World Meteorological Organization said the planet had had its hottest few days on record in the first few days of July.
Meanwhile we have thundery showers and blustery winds. Actually today has not been so bad as predicted. It rained on me when I ran round the village first thing but I’ve hung washing out to dry since then. Having said that, it will probably change in the next half hour. That’s the way it seems to go.
Some time ago I read about a bear attacking and killing a jogger near the small town of Caldes in the Trento province. The bear, identified simply as JJ4 was captured and was initially destined to be put down. But an animal rights group has protested and has found a safe haven for JJ4 in Romania. So the Italian courts have given JJ4 a reprieve. Only fair, I suppose. After all, the bear probably felt threatened by the jogger. And she was only doing what bears do.
Ironically, bears had disappeared from the region, which was repopulated with bears from 1999 under an EU-funded programme. Since then there have been several bear attacks in recent years, raising questions about how cohabitation with such wild animals can be achieved successfully. If you want bears in your woods, you have to be careful.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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