07 May 2017

When Berlin was Warmer than Mallorca

So it's warm again. People are outside again. And things are colorful again. It's already May, but actually, the weather transformation has already started a few weeks ago. In fact, during the last days of March, there were times when Berlin was very warm, in fact, warmer than Mallorca. And that was just something else.

On the first weekend in April, for example, there were so many people outside. Heck, even we went outside and went around town. There were so many people outside! The streetcars kept on getting delayed, because there were simply so many pedestrians on the streets and they were more or less blocking the tracks. People were lounging outside, walking barefoot, reading their books at the park, walking on the streets wearing sunglasses, walking their dogs, eating ice cream, and so forth. Things were just alive.

I suppose the weather has a great effect on people's temperament. After all, what do you expect after seeing months and months of dark grey cloudy skies?

That being said, I must say there is a not so desirable side to the change of weather. It was after all the warmest March on record, and the last time March was that warm here in Germany was back in 1881. Given all of these trends, I cannot believe there are still people to deny climate change, and governments going back to supporting the coal industry, and just having total disregard for the planet. As much as I like it warm than cold, I also do not prefer it to be warmer than usual.

Perhaps I will be dead by the time the effects of climate change are fully perceived. But perhaps that is also too late. Of course, there are other pressing issues that I care about, but nevertheless I find it disappointing that the sometimes the people whose decisions matter most don't even acknowledge that this is happening, ignoring the opinions of scientists and other specialists in the matter.