Monday, April 4, 2016

Of Heat Waves and Heat Strokes

After a cup of tea with my neighbour Dorothy in a cafe, we were on our way out to the car park when suddenly, my head started to spin and I felt sick to the stomach. I thought I was going to faint but luckily, we made it into the car where Dorothy quickly switched the air-conditioner on and turned it up to max. I felt better instantly. I dismissed the episode as a hot flash, typical of menopause. What I didn't realize until later was I had a heat stroke and had I not been in an air-conditioned environment (inside the car), I surely would have collapsed.

The temps here have been hovering around 100 °F for several months now and the heat wave is predicted to last for some time, no thanks to the El Nino phenomenon that is causing the climatic change. Schools in the northern states were closed for a couple of days due to the scorching heat.

The present heat wave  is the hottest and longest we ever had and is just the tip of the iceberg. The blame has been put on El Nino and it is hoped that its effects will be felt only once in many years. But we all know that this  may be just  a foretaste of more or worse to come.

The almost unbearable condition in recent weeks has been due to a temperature rise of several degrees Celsius. Even if that is wholly due to El Nino, the same or even greater temperature rise is predicted to take place due to climate change.

Already the world is now experiencing a 1°C increase in mean temperature, compared to pre-industrial levels.

A two-degree increase will be devastating and any rise beyond that may be catastrophic. At present rates of Greenhouse Gas emissions, we are on track for a four-degree worldwide increase.

I guess we already saw that coming and have only ourselves to blame for our blatant disregard for Mother Nature.

Sharing this spot-on, beautiful, moving tribute to Mother Nature by El Gamma Penumbra on Asia's Got Talent. As judge David Foster says, "The message is so beautifully profound".



Cookies I made for Easter
Easter Bunny Cookies
Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

13 comments:

  1. Yes, so true. I find it ridiculous that there is not more attention drawn to this matter, and embarrassing that some in my country (US) want to deny that it is even happening (makes us all look selfish and uneducated.)

    The problem is that many in power see this problem, but are afraid that their profits will be in jeopardy if they do anything about it. It is irreversible and to the detriment of every species on Earth; We will not survive. The issue makes me sad and angry. :(

    Having ranted (lol), I want to say take care of yourself!

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  2. Those cookies are cute! Glad you were okay after that incident with the heat stroke, Veronica. It is hard to live in such high temps continually with no end in sight. We moved to a place with hot weather but it is expected, know what I mean? Schools are air conditioned, etc. If it is not the norm, it is hard to adjust indeed.

    betty

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  3. Sorry to hear the heat made you sick! We have not had much of a winter here in Louisiana, so I'm betting we are in for a scorching hot summer. It's already nearing 80 degrees and summer is a few months away.

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  4. You need to take care of yourself during the climatic change. Eat watery things often during very hot season to keep yourself warm. Love the cookies what you have made...

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  5. Your cookies are amazing the detail that you put into them!!

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  6. I'm glad you're OK! I myself have had that over heated feeling several times and it's brutal. Those cookies are so cute! I wish I could do that. Kristin from His Mine n Ours

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  7. That's good you were able to get into air conditioning. That must have been scary!

    I was in Mexico once upon a time. I always heard not to drink their water, so I drank no water the day I was there. I went back to my grandparent's camper, was in the bathroom, and passed out cold. I woke up with my head between my knees, and my grandpa pounding on the door. Heat strokes are no fun!

    On another note those Easter Bunny Cookies are super cute!

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  8. Also an American here and disgusted that so many politicians are in denial about climate change. Your cookies are amazing! Thanks for stopping by my blog, wanted to do you the favor as well :)
    fullmotherhood.wordpress.com
    rachel

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  9. Thank you for sharing a post on such an important topic, and I hope the unbearable heat passes soon for you X #kcacols

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  10. I hope you're feeling better now! Heat stroke can be so serious, but I think a lot of people aren't that aware of it.

    Love the Easter cookies too! Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday x

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  11. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop

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  12. Glad the heat stroke wasn't more serious. I really hate hot temperatures - don't respond well to them at all. Yes, the threat of climate change is very concerning, & what seem like relatively small changes can have much more impact than people think.
    Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday.

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  13. Ooh heat stroke can be really nasty - glad you're ok! You obviously don't live in the UK - it's still freezing here ugh :( #KCACOLS

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