I have to admit that I’m more a warm weather person, having recently returned from a three-month road trip up north to escape Perth’s winter.
Within a few hours of returning I was lamenting the sudden drop in temperature and contemplating booking a one-way fare up to Broome.
Meanwhile several of my friends were frolicking around in Italy and posting photos on social media of another glorious European summer.
Except that in some parts of southern Europe, it was anything but glorious, with extreme temperatures in several cities reaching just shy of 50°C.
The Cerberus heatwave – named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante’s Inferno – caused a rush of heat-related hospital casualties.
El Nino largely affects eastern Australia, but also brings an increased risk of extreme heat across large parts of the country.
And as I write this, a couple of weeks into Spring, Sydney is having a 35°C day, its highest September temperature on record – only days after the Bureau of Meteorology officially declared an El Niño weather event – the first in eight years.
El Niño largely affects eastern Australia, but also brings an increased risk of extreme heat across large parts of the country. Every event is different, so it is unclear exactly how the climate system will react.
It’s expected to be a major influence on our weather and climate, increasing the risk of heatwaves, droughts and bushfires – and the impacts may well become more severe with climate change.
And that is going to affect all aspects of our lives, but especially the health system.
Perhaps I should be looking at flights down to Albany instead?
Talking of important issues, don’t miss this month’s sobering interview with Myanmar former health minister Dr Zhao Wai Sao, who discusses the health crisis in his country with Eric Martin.