Hot and bothered

According to the ever-reliable weather forecast, today marks Sydney’s last day of real heat for a while.

But new research has found that our days wrapped in jumpers may not last as long as they used to. Summer temperatures now last about 130 days in Sydney, up from 80 days in 1990. Around the world, summer weather has extended beyond the typical season, and it’s growing faster than previously thought.

On the other side of the world, London marked the hottest early April day for 80 years, hitting a balmy 26C. Crack out the disposable barbeques on London Fields. 

The US registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years, a record which many fear will be quickly broken by a super-strength El Niño currently brewing.

And in a huge blow to Instagram-obsessed holidaymakers, warmer winters have left Japan’s famous cherry blossoms under threat, with cherry trees looking “bedraggled” as flowers die off quicker than normal. 

You’d think that given the constant evidence that the climate is changing dramatically, behaviour change would come easily. 

Alas, no. According to one survey, a third of Americans admitted to making a specific, temporary effort to be sustainable on Earth Day before reverting back to old ways. A planet is for life, not just for Earth Day, or something. 

Attempts to tackle this gap between lived experience and actions vary as wildly as the weather. 

On one end, King Charles is “sharpening his language” on climate change, according to one royal observer. At the other end of the spectrum, this week saw the launch of Headline Newds, a video series where the climate emergency is raunchily explained by a variety of OnlyFans models.

At this point, any attempt to get people more engaged with climate change should be applauded. Let’s just hope there’s no crossover in those approaches. We’ve all heard the Camilla tapes, after all.