26 May 2011, Metro-Herald's front page headline screams:
Ireland set for sizzling summer
The article itself reads that Ireland could be facing the hottest summer on record with temperatures soaring above 30°C...
You can read all the issue online here (if you desired to waste your time). You may need to provide your email address.
When I read it that day, I told everyone who was willing to listen (principally it means to no one), that they don't mind to print such a non-news melodramatic rubbish, just because they know that no one will bother to remember what they wrote. After all, Metro is mainly used to wrap fresh fish the next day rather than being a news source.
Well, since I don't really bother to grab it when I see it (free doesn't mean costless. Why should I contribute to environmental pollution and support this debauchery and moral corruption?), I kept this little piece of information somewhere in my mind.
I don't know what about you, my Irish compatriots, I'm still waiting for the Irish summer to come...
So far the temperature in Dublin has exceeded 20 degrees only in 11 days (three in June, six in July and two in August) and hasn't climbed above 25 degrees.
I don't complain. In fact, the contrary. Ireland is a paradise for outdoor activities. It's not too cold, not too warm and the rain is always light, never torrential downpours. It's just not a country for short sleeves and trousers. No big deal.
Anyhow, a fast forward to yesterday, I checked the website of Met Éireann - The Irish Meteorological Service and reviewed their weather of summer summary briefly.
Curious and curiouser. "Cooler than average everywhere" says the none-attractive headline.
"The majority of mean air temperatures for the season were between 0.5°C and 1.0°C below normal with almost all stations recording below average air temperatures for all three months in the summer season".
Furthermore, "Shannon Airport [was] reporting the coolest summer since 1962 (49 years) and Valentia Observatory since 1972 (39 years). Dublin stations of Phoenix Park and Casement Aerodrome reported their coolest summers since 1986 (25 years), while data records at Dublin Airport showed the coldest summer recorded at the site since records began in 1941(70 years)". As Met Éireann are a serious scientific organisation, they are honest enough to note that "the stations site was relocated to a cooler location in 1994 and examination of the data suggests that this summer was probably also the coolest since 1986".
No one tries to claim that there is a global frost ahead of us, although an irregular absence of sunspots (a link to an article in the science section of the Economist, a "slightly" more serious newspaper) may hint we are moving towards this direction. Or not.
Although the leaves have started to change colour recently, the summer will officially linger on for about three more weeks. Some critics could say it might warm up and the Metro's apocalyptic forecast will come true. It is possible, even though I doubt it. In any case, Metro clearly referred to June and July, so the tonnes of paper, the rows of trees that were chopped to print it, were wasted. Who will offset this unneeded carbon emission?
So what is the moral of this minor story? There are few.
First, never trust newspapers, serious and tabloids alike. It's not worth it.
Second, never trust the weathermen. Their guess is almost as good as yours, especially when they try to predict weather more than a week ahead.
Third, in Ireland, take umbrella and sunglasses every morning. You are more than likely to use both anyway...
As the old Irish proverb says:
You know it's summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer...
Elaad
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