Wherever we went in Ireland, everything seemed washed clean by the
ubiquitous low clouds and rain. There were sun breaks, and when those
occurred the sky was as clear and blue as anywhere, but it never really warmed
up. Most telling was Michael’s comment one day that “it would be nice to come
back here in the summer”. I had to point out to him that it was summer.
After a surreal return flight that took a total of about 20
hours because of British Airways re-booking our flight on an itinerary that
involved an excruciatingly long layover in Heathrow, it was with some relief
that I was able to shed the multiple layers of clothing that I’d been wearing
and enjoy what’s left of our summer. There’s not a cloud in the sky, but it’s not
the bright blue sky that I was expecting.
Since we’ve been back, the sky has been an ugly yellow-brown
color due to the big wildfires that are burning east of here. Yesterday the map
showed at least a dozen fires, and today there are more. When I go outside this
morning, there’s a strong smell of smoke, the intensity of which has increased since last night. Houses and buildings have burned, and several
firefighters have died.
It’s not unusual to have wildfires in the late summer, but
the magnitude of the fires this year is unusual due to the drought. The new
smell of summer in Seattle seems to be smoke.
[Photos from various
news sources. I would take some photos, but can’t download them from my camera
or phone until my laptop undergoes some more treatments for what ails it.]
Fortunately there's no wildfire here in Karaj. But dust pollution is discernibly increasing these years.
ReplyDeleteFarbod, Today (29 August) we're having a winter storm of the type we normally get in November-January, with wind and rain. The rain is welcome after the drought, but definitely not normal. The eastern part of the state is apparently having dust storms to go with the fires that are still burning. People don't seem to care that the environment is progressively more damaged with every new development project. Each one individually may have a tiny impact, but put them together and the effect is huge.
ReplyDelete