Last night I felt like I entered the Twilight Zone when it rained properly, but it was for only about 10 minutes. It felt strange during those few minutes, when the raindrops made that familiar deafening sound on my roof, and the smell of wetness rose from the earth. I was already contemplating closing the big ass windows in my bedroom that would need to be closed when it rains hard with wind, because rain can get blown into the room and make a small mess, but I decided to enjoy the sounds and smells of rain for a bit. Good thing I didn’t because the rain didn’t last long, and the temperatures went back to what has been normal as soon as it stopped, so I would’ve been forced to either reopen those windows, or close the other windows and turn on the AC.
The funny thing about extra big windows is that while they provide excellent ventilation and light, they always need to be closed. I have to close them when I go off to work, because the extremeness of the dry season has made everything super dusty. When it starts raining again, which could be a bit too much to handle if La Niña comes, I’ll still have to close it every day when I go because the rain could get into the room if I don’t. However, I guess the pros outweigh the cons, as having large windows means I hardly need to turn on the AC as much when the weather isn’t as terribly hot as it has been in the past few weeks.
Anyway, the changing weather reminded me that while we may still be sweating our butts off, it is already time for us to get ready for the other season. This means those who have leaky roofs and clogged storm drains still have a couple of weeks at most to get the repairs and maintenance done. The coming typhoon season, which would most likely be aggravated by the effects of the El Niño / La Niña combo, means that those with big trees near their houses may have to call in the tree trimmers, in order to reduce the risk of fallen trees or branches when the climate change powered storms do come.
As for power, well since it doesn’t really matter whether because we have been trained to expect brownouts whether it’s hot or rainy, so I guess there’s not much adjustment necessary there. Maybe change the oil of that genset, or check the batteries of those emergency lamps. If it’s any consolation, at least we won’t be needing battery powered electric fans as much.
If you come to think of it, there isn’t really much we need to do to prepare for the wet season. We are fortunate in that way. Compared to other countries that have four seasons, no special preparations, clothes, or tires are needed for the harsh winter months. All we need are raincoats and umbrellas and we are good to go.
Anyway, it is good that the rains are finally starting to come. It would be nice to feel a slight chill in the breeze every now and then, see grass and vegetation start to turn green again, and be able to stroll around our totally unwalkable cities and get a headache only from the many hazards we have to avoid and not from the intense heat. It would be nice to see a smaller electric bill after the past few months of extensive aircon usage, although those of us who pay for car washes will have to prepare to deal with that once more.
We are still in the middle of summer, and the school kids are just starting their break. Hopefully we get a couple of weeks of good weather, where it’s not too hot and not yet too wet, so families can enjoy the break and spend some time together, before we are all stuck back at home again, this time avoiding the rains instead of the heat. Take advantage of this window of opportunity if you can.
For those of us who manage homes or offices, the extremes of the weather we experience this year should give a good baseline of what to expect in the coming years, because unless the global community comes together and we all do what is needed to mitigate climate change, the succeeding years will probably be even hotter and/or wetter. And because undoing the damage we have wrought to the planet will take time, whatever we felt was needed this year, be it airconditining or rain proofing, will be even more necessary in the years to come.
It’s depressing to think that the summer and rainy seasons are going to be tougher to go through as time goes by, but because of the way we have been treating our planet, this is the world we now live in.*
