Maybe I'm deluding myself but there is NO evidence locally of Global Warming. Usually December/January are steaming hot with average temperartures of around 35 degrees Celsius, whilst the effective temperature - if you add in the effects of humidity - reaches around 43 degrees celsius. Today (last day of 2010) the maximum predeicted (by a reasonably reliable source) is 25 degrees, and it is not as sticky as usual!
Where is there evidence of Global Warming? The other thing is that the sea water in the yacht mole in Richards Bay is at the exact same level as it has been for the last 2 decades. I think that the "scientists" who came up with the concept of Global Warming, have gotten it horribly wrong! You hear comments about "Carbon Footprints"but nothing is said of the amount of carbon dioxide emited to create "clean green energy" (electricity) by running fossil fuel burning (coal fired) power plants. I think that the residents of Chernobyl in Russia dont think that "clean" nuclear produced energy is worth the cost of a potential meltdown! That meltdown damaged the lands around the plant for miles, and people are still suffering the effects of radiation.
At the coast we see plenty of evidence of solar radiation when the Vaalies (people from around Johannesburg) sit on the beach the first day from sunup to sundown, going really red, then spend the next few days not being able to move! It is like leaving the slices of bread under the grill for too long! They go from slightly toasted to charred very fast! The out of towners dont realise that the beach is pleasant until 9ish - then gets baking hot - until 4pm, when it cools down again. Between 9 and 4, the sun beats on the sand and you can barely walk on it! Sure where the waves wash over it, it is cool, but if you move onto the dry portion of the beach, the sand is burning hot!
What else they dont realise is that the suns reflection off the water is almost as much of a killer as direct sun! You get worse sun burn when it is partly cloudy than you get when the shies are clear! Sailing a dinghy (or a Surfsailer) and you are shaded by the sail, you get worse sunburn than you do in direct sunlight! That was the reflection off of the water and was definitely not a reason to invoke the false gods of Global Warming!
I still maintain that February is THE most unpleasant time of year here, temperature wise, but it is not then too long to sit it out (in a pool) until April, by far the best month we have at the coast! The weather really makes up for the humidity of December to February! The ideal for us is to go stay in the Drakensberg rom January to March when it is sunny but not too hot there, and come back for march - may - perfect weather here! I still have nightmares about the cold of Johannesburg in winter.
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