Mood: miserable
I don’t know how anyone can NOT believe that the climate is changing – the weather patterns over the past 7 years have been just weird. There are no longer 4 defined seasons. You can get any weather at any time of the year – it’s bizarre. NZ summers where I live, never had temperatures over 26 degrees C. Now you’ll often get over 30 in the first part of the morning! That’s just crazy – that’s Australian weather not NZ.
I’m complaining because it’s mid October and we should be getting warmer and more stable weather. It’s decidedly wintry. The temperatures for the past week or so have barely gone above 10 deg C. The wind is freezing and the rain doesn’t stop for more than a couple of hours. Some spring! I don’t ever remember it being this cold in October. Snow is forecast for a lot of mountainous regions around the country – it’s madness. The powers that be at work have the heating on an automated system so it’s now turned off for the year. They won’t be turning it back on. Thanks. So we shiver next to little electric heaters.
People in the northern hemisphere often wonder why I complain of the cold when it’s only about 10-15 deg C. It’s cold because most NZ buildings – especially houses, are not insulated. So you get the damp coldness creeping in from every corner – it’s horrible. NZers cannot afford underfloor heating (unless of course you’re rich). There is no double glazing of windows. The vast majority of ordinary New Zealanders rely on a gas or electric heater, or burn wood in a fireplace. Only the room you have the heat on is warm – the rest of the house is damp and cold.
I hate New Zealand winters and now we’re getting winter for 10 months of the year.
Reflections 