THIS week we have been in the throes of one of the coldest spells we have witnessed in West Cork since the big snow event of 2010.
While we have had flurries over the last few years, and some frosty mornings, we have not had such an extended cold spell for many years.
Many climate change deniers would have us believe that this kind of weather is proof that the climate is not warming.
But that is why scientists have, in recent years, been at pains to re-classify what is happening as climate ‘change’ and not a warming effect.
While the changes in the climate are certainly occurring as a result of a warming planet, the actual effect is to create extremes of weathers, and not just warmer climes.
The rapidly disappearing ice shelf along the north Atlantic is not going to help us, either.
The Gulf stream – which has kept the Irish climate so temperate – is now in danger of being pushed further south by the breaking ice and rising sea levels.
All of this will lead to more rain, and extremes of warmth and cold in the islands bordering the north Atlantic, of which we are one.
But if there is any upside to all of this, it is how the worst of situations brings out the best in humanity.
Pick up any newspaper, turn on any news channel or scroll through any social media sites and you will find heart-warming stories of neighbours helping each other out, and stories of the elderly being ‘looked in on’ by concerned locals.
The videos of farmers dragging motorists out of snow drifts further up the country were well-shared this week, as were similar ones during the recent flooding events in West Cork.
There were neighbours building igloos together, making giant snowmen side-by-side, and helping each other to get to work and school, on the days when they could still make it safely.
And during the times when we were battening down the hatches and lying low to wait it out, there were phone calls being made, checks on fuel supplies, and even stories of bread being baked and dropped off on doorsteps of homes where the power was out.
Volunteer agencies around the country were at full tilt helping those who have travelled here from war-torn lands, and due to other man-made disasters, and have found themselves sleeping on footpaths and in tents at unsuitable locations.
Soup kitchens were seeing unprecedented demand for their services, but were fiercely rising to the challenge.
It’s at times like this that we really see humanity at its best.
Friends helping friends, neighbours on high alert, and family members checking in on each other to see if any help is needed.
And when it is, there is no shortage of it about.
We might live in a world that is increasingly divided and in chaos, but when push comes to shove, or in this case, a cold event comes to call, there is nothing so heart-warming as seeing how we can all pull together for the betterment of everyone, when it really matters.
