The weather report

Ice and fire

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I am on Inis Oirr for the month of January. I arrived on Monday, leaving frosty Kildare and driving into midland blizzards. I came prepared with layers, but I was surprised to learn that things were warmer here. Of course they were warmer here. With the Atlantic crashing up against its shorts, the salty water and air prevents extreme snowfall, and limits ice.

However, this morning a historic weather event hit the island; black ice. A very rare occurrence for Inis Oirr, local farmers gritted some of the the roads and the sea air was in charge of the rest. Local school kids were thrilled as they slipped and slid down the many hills, but they told me mournfully this afternoon that it’s not the same as snow. They can see it on the mountaintops of Galway and Clare, which further rubs salt into the wound; they’ll never get a snow day.

It was a balmy 5 degrees here, when just across the bay it was -2. My Instagram feed tells me that the pipes are frozen in Daddy’s Cafe/The Circular Bar in Rialto, so while they can serve coffees and pastries, the rest of their business is closed until the plumbing is sorted. I’ve been refreshing the Irish Times feed, to see when this extraordinary cold snap will ease, all from the comfort of the island, where today it was too warm to wear my woolly hat. The gloves and scarf remained.

Of course, this feels so alarming as Los Angeles goes up in flames. I have not been able to take my eyes off the BBC and New York Times coverage of what’s going on. When I went on an American road trip in 2014, my friends and I were very kindly hosted by a wonderful family in LA, who have hosted us multiple times since. Their homes, where we had the best breakfasts we’ve ever experienced and the liveliest chilli nights, have all been destroyed. What they’re going through, what they’ve lost and what they’re trying to escape; incomprehensible.

Knowing that they’re running out of water, despite being right beside the sea, because a large portion of LA’s water supply is privately owned is terrifying. The city is also deploying incarcerated firefighters to take on the flames because they do not have enough staff. Climate change plays a huge role in the fires, as well as the fact that last year’s wet winter encouraged more plant growth that wound up drying out during the summer. Capitalism and climate change are the main causes, and it’s solidified my decision for this year to cut back on how much I shop online. I’m limiting myself to five new items of clothing for the entire year, and I think I’m going to expand that to flying nowhere this year either.