It’s not good weather

The beaches might be full, but summery temperatures occurring in a dry April is not good news for anyone

Ignacio Lillo

Friday, 14 April 2023, 13:53

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Don’t call it good weather. Our language is full of adjectives and metaphors, giving us a thousand ways of describing it. But not that. I know it’s the economics of language that makes us say "good weather" when it’s hot with the sun blazing down, and we say "bad weather" when it’s cold and rainy.

I understand that it’s also imposed by tourism, which is our main industry; so we relate climate wellbeing with the possibility of visitors coming to spend their bonuses here; and climate malaise with them staying at home and not filling hotels and terraces.

If our economy were mainly driven by farming and not services, the vision would be the complete opposite and good would be bad and vice versa.

So I propose we talk about sunny days, which is a matter of fact; hot days; or even scorching days. Summery, if you prefer. Beach days, sunbed and beach bar days, and terral wind days... All of those are acceptable.

But please, don’t call it good weather, and I’m the first person who needs reminding of that.

This April it ought to be exactly the opposite. Because, even though the beaches are full, this sort of haze in spring does not bring good news - for anyone. Last Monday Malaga set a new maximum temperature record, beating the one that had been set just a year ago, which is too little time between landmarks of that nature. At this rate the summer will end up starting in March.

But what is really worrying is the drought. This month, which ought to be full of April showers, there is still no sign of the slightest rainfall, and farmers have now warned, with the charactertistic common sense of their profession, that without water, there’s no harvest. The worst part is what comes next: with no harvest, there’s no food, although there’s always cultured meat, now that we have a promising young local researcher working on it.

If only next April could be like the ones we always used to know, with the short heavy showers that catch you unawares and soak you on your bike; and then the sun comes out and the plants look cheerful with their shiny leaves covered in raindrops. With clouds that offer shade at intervals, windy days and chilly nights, spring at its best...

I honestly don’t know what to call this, but please don’t call it good weather.

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