With the current weather here in Andalucia – actually the whole of Spain – heavy rainfall, storms, high winds, the Curmudgeon thinks he’s living in a third world country.
Why?
Weather in 2023
For the last three days we have experienced really bad weather here on the Iberian Peninsula. Actually, if you speak to a Spaniard, good weather.
Eh?
There have been drought conditions here in southern Spain for most of this year. 2023 has endured the hottest and driest summer since records began. The reservoirs are very low on water, some are officially empty.
We northern Europeans, deprived of sunlight for most of our lives, love it? When asked why they emigrated to Spain, most will mention the weather as a factor. In Andalucia we enjoy 300 days of sunshine per year!
The locals, however, see it differently. Many andaluces are farmers, agricultural workers, fruit and vegetable producers, vintners, etc. Their crops have been poor and harvests are reduced in 2023 because of the lack of water.
So, when it rains, they love it and pray for more. They call it good weather.
I digress.
Power cuts
The storms keep knocking out the electricity supply, which is pretty fragile round here. The system is ancient and needs an urgent upgrade. There were 13 power cuts on Christmas Day a few years back. How we roasted our turkey I do not recall.
Those of us with “nothing to do” (Ha! Ha! I’m busier at 73 than I ever was before I retired from work, and I had a demanding job with long hours!), we can’t watch TV, can’t read, can’t use our computers, can’t brew a cup of tea, nor cook a meal.
The storms of the last three days have blown down trees, flooded streets, burst drains, played havoc in gardens, blowing down trellises and snapping tender saplings.
I’ve had enough, personally!
Sadly, the rain is insufficient to fill the reservoirs nor top up the underground springs, wells and aquifers. It won’t get the dried-up rivers flowing again and it won’t rescue the crops that have starved of water.
Yet, there are still climate change deniers. Are these the same people who are holocaust deniers?
It makes you think …..
© The Curmudgeon
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climate change denier, Curmudgeon, drought, electricity supply, flood, holocaust denier, light, power cut, rain, reservoir, storm, water