I think we have had enough snow now!! Its causing lots of problems in the UK and its turning into dangerous ice! (Although in some quieter areas like near my parents it still looks pretty.). The UK is seemingly grinding to a halt, people panic buying and some stupid news headlines are appearing – the other day with all the snow Manchester was “a city under siege”. Oh dear..
Loads of schools have been closed, people unable to get into work, sports events cancelled, airports closed,…. The list goes on. You would have thought by now we would have learned our lesson. The past few years have been very cold and although this year the snow has been pretty extreme (for the UK anyway) I think the government could have prepared better. Compared to some countries around the world we are not handling it particularly well (in my opinion).
For example, the president of the AA contacted the government back in November about the levels of grit/salt. However, we are now in a situation where grit/salt levels are low and salt use is to be reduced by 25% (including no gritting of the hard shoulder on motorways).
I mentioned before that many schools have been closed and this also includes exams being cancelled. Looking at the forecast this cold weather looks like to last at least another 7 days if not more. (If its anything like back in 1963, it snowed from Boxing Day all the way up to March!!). I heard somewhere that pupils may need to do exams in the summer.
The bad weather is also having a effect on business. Insurers RSA predicted it could cost the UK economy £690m a day.
The government now need to get there act together. Its too late to be prepared for this winter but for the future winters we need to be better prepared with things like grit/salt levels. There are many other countries were very cold weather and lots of snow and they handle its miles better – for them this is properly considered mild! If it does snow like this every year, what can be done?? The BBC has an article about what could be done and what is done in other countries.
One thought I have had and I am sure thousands of others have had is global warming and basically where is it then. Isnt it supposed to be getting warmer?? Well apparently the key thing is the difference between weather and climate. Weather is what we get day to day, month by month. The climate is the weather over a 30 year period and apparently this is increasing. Personally I think the UK could do with getting a few degrees warmer in the summer!! (And for longer!)
Anyway, stay safe everyone. Roads are icy and some pavements are lethal!! If you do have to drive there are some tips – basically easy on the accelerator and brake & consider starting off in 2nd gear to reduce likelyhood of wheel spin.
