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Undoubtedly there is something going on with the weather. We have seen the most extraordinary extremes across the globe and probably have more to come.
The huge snowfalls are paradise for kids enjoying snow ball fights and sledging, days off school. It is good to fuel the economies of the ski resorts. But for everyday activity we have seen the woeful in adequate planning and foresight that sets us apart from our European counterparts.
We are seeing greater variation in our weather. I am sure it is entirely possible that what we have experienced is one of those freaks spells that hit every 20 years or so. However it is entirely possible that we will see successive cold spells in the coming years.
Surely now is the time that we invest in proper equipment, plans and measures that allows our economy to keep running, whatever falls from the sky.
Of course it will be argued that this does not make economic sense; that the infrequent occurrences just cannot justify such infrastructure investment. But just how many “freak” winters will it take before we wake up that money spent is sound if it mitigates the panics and problems we have seen over the last fortnight?
Whether it is climate change or not we have to invest for the extreme conditions. Even if it is another 20 years for the next freak spell to occur it’s a good gamble to have the cards stacked on our side.
15 Jan 2010 08:20:28