Thought for the day 11 May

11 Christian Aid Week  Rainfall and drought

We love to talk weather, which usually means that we have a wee moan about it. There were some pretty heavy showers yesterday, but it is supposed to be dry today. We get irritated when the media go on about how lovely the weather is in the South of England, and we’ve got cold, wet and windy weather. Most of the time the weather is an irritation, rather than something that impacts heavily on our lives. It’s different if you are planning an outdoor function like a Summer Fete or School Sports Day, if you rely on tourists and holiday makers coming to your ice cream parlour, tea garden or other tourist/hospitality-related business, or if you are a farmer who needs a suitable mix of weather to grow cereals or crops.

The frosts seen last month and at the beginning of this month were unusual, but not unique, but they made us think, ‘this is different.’ There are a lot of patterns to the weather that are ‘different’ from what they used to be – remember the snow many of us knew when we were young? Some changes occur naturally, but human activity is reckoned to be speeding up change and creating more volatility.

For us it may mean frost in May. For people in places like East Africa it can mean no rain at all for the crops and livestock, and people having to walk miles to collect water from a well for their own use and to grow food, and maintain cattle

 

Lord, the weather is part of the rich variety of the world, and we need its variations in order to live. But we human beings are creating greater volatility in the weather, affecting the lives of billions of our fellow human beings, as well as the rest of life on the planet. Inspire politicians and experts to take the steps needed to curb climate change, and address the issues already created by it. Help us, when we are moaning about the weather, to remember those for whom climate change has a serious impact on their lives and livelihoods

PS Summer Isles looking South across Loch Broom

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