There’s quite a bit of chatter about climate change lately, making me empathise with the infant polar bear from that familiar anecdote.
Upon his return from school one day, the Baby Polar Bear queried his mum, doubting his true identity as a polar bear. His mum assured, “Indeed, you are, my precious one! Now promptly proceed with your homework before supper.”
The following day, the Baby Polar Bear comes home and inquires the same to his granddad, to which, the granddad cheerfully confirms, “Absolutely, you rascal! Now finish your homework prior to dinner.”
On the subsequent day, our Baby Polar Bear, once again posed the same question to his grandma, who was as confident as his granddad and mother in their replies: “Most certainly, my dear. Now finish your tutoring obligations before we dine.”
By day four, the Baby Polar Bear was getting perplexed. This time as he returns from school, he questioned his dad about his true identity. His dad was peeved, having heard the same question and the same answers over the past three days.
Frustratedly he demanded, “Hold on. I have heard you question Mummy, Granny and Grandpa about precisely this and they have all affirmed ‘yes, you are indeed a polar bear’. Now you approach me. What induces you to repeatedly question your bear-lineage?”
Baby Polar Bear’s mumbling was inaudible to his father, who insisted on hearing him clearly, to which Baby Polar Bear exclaimed frantically: “…that’s due to my incessant freezing!”
That’s precisely how I am feeling when it’s announced that the average temperature in Ireland is persistently breaking past records, and especially upon hearing that last May was the warmest ever. Certainly didn’t feel like that to me. I, akin to Baby Polar, had been chilling and drenched throughout May.
These circumstances conjure me to appeal to St Swithin on his feast day: kindly refrain from the miracles please. Should it rain today, can we delay your ‘guarantee’ of continuous precipitation for the coming 40 days? Or I might just turn into a waterfowl.
The term ‘Climate’ originally derived from the Latin ‘clima’, the Greek ‘klima’, representing ‘region, zone, and inclination’.