Fawcett MK: Keeping Up

The Heat is on ‘Lovely morning’ we say cheerfully, as we step out to enjoy the early clear skies and comforting warmth of a 2025 summer’s day. ‘And nice to have a bit of a breeze.’ And then, five or six hours later, when the air is still and temperatures have risen to 30 plus, our tune begins to change and all our efforts to cool down fail dismally. The pavements are too hot for dogs to walk on, the plants are parched, burnt skin begins to peel and water levels drop. Nasty things happen in the heat. Over in Mexico, dehydrated and exhausted monkeys are falling lifelessly from the trees. Bats and flying foxes in Australia also plummet to the ground and are lucky if they are rescued and rehydrated. Molluscs and barnacles attached to rocky coastlines off Vancouver Island cannot move to cooler waters, so bake to death in their millions. And human beings, trying to work and earn a living in the heat – what of them? Workers preparing food in sweltering kitchens, or labouring in poly tunnels g...