The weather blog

Here we go again, cyclone season and Cyclone Garance has a trajectory towards Mauritius. The worst thing about cyclones isn’t the wet and windy weather it’s the boredom. Category 3 was declared yesterday afternoon which puts us in a form of lockdown until it is lifted. Category 3 is a 12 hour warning of extreme weather. I am all for being sensible and taking precautions but 12 hours is a long wait, we will still be on the periphery of the storm at 4pm today! The local news is reporting some crazy thrill seekers are in the water with surf boards and kite surfers. I hope they realise that the emergency services will not come to their rescue as officially beaches should be avoided and their car insurance isn’t valid.

It has been a very hot, humid summer. 31 degrees most days, which I would normally say is a perfect temperature but not with 100% humidity. I do realise that my friends in the Northern Hemisphere will have no sympathy! Every year gets hotter and the water shortages get worse. Water supply is restricted to a few hours each day as the reservoirs are almost dry and the electricity supply is teetering on the edge due to extreme consumption blamed on copious use of air conditioning.

Sugar Cane production covers 45% of all agricultural land and provides employment in rural areas but only 2% of GDP is generated by it. 1 kilo of Sugar takes 2000 litres of water to produce. Where is the sense in that for a place with acute water shortages every year even though it is a fairly drought resistant crop. To be fair the byproduct of sugar production is used to generate energy, and then of course there is rum!!

The level of disruption to us is minimal. We have big water tanks and low consumption, not to mention we can afford a private tanker should we need a top up. Only one significant power outage so far. For those on low incomes and living in poor housing it’s very different. This island is full of 5 star all inclusive hotels that have generators and are prioritised for water supply therefore tourists have no idea about the hardships faced by many locals. Seems like all governments are as bad as each other, in the UK the old and poor can’t afford to stay warm, here they can’t afford to stay cool. At least the cyclone will bring rain.

Whilst I am not a “climate change doubter” I remain unconvinced that my small efforts to save the planet make much of an impact whilst USA/China/India et al continue to belch out industrial fumes. Not all green initiates are well thought out. I just read an article written by a man who says his very expensive heat pump is so inefficient he can only stay warm by using a wood burner. Some of the biggest car dealerships in the U.K. are closing down as they cannot meet the 22% target on zero emission car sales. People simply don’t want to buy electric cars. The £15,000 fine for each car sold over the target is resulting in redundancies which in turn will increase the benefit bill, reduce income tax revenues and reduce income from business rates. Meanwhile Trump wants the USA to drill and burn as much as possible, to hell with the environment. All I can say is that I am glad to be 61 and not 16 for many, many reasons.

Recycling in Mauritius is a hit and miss affair. You can carefully separate your waste only to see it all get tipped into one big truck! Outside of shopping mall car parks there are limited recycling facilities and there is a low appetite amongst the general population to make the effort. Trash on beaches and fly tipping are big issues so expecting the same people to recycle is a tall order. Most of what is collected for recycling is exported for processing with a few exceptions such as compost production and plastic eco-bricks. Thankfully Phoenix Beverages have a cash back scheme on bottles that they refill, just as well a lot of beer is consumed in hot weather.

I have meandered my thoughts back to the weather. I think it’s time for a beer before it rains!