Silversprite
Published February 8th, 2007
3 centimetres of forecast snow has fallen on much of southern England. See this news story entitled “Heavy snow causes travel problems”. The deepest snow is a shockingly deep … erm 9cm (less than 4 inches). The media goes into predictable frenzy. The news is filled with images of abandoned cars. Schools are shut; airport runways are closed; train services are disrupted (”wrong type of snow”). On the lunchtime news, a person walking a dog along a deserted main road with about 1 inch of snow of it exclaims that “It’s terrible, so atrocious.” Get a grip.
The media aren’t helping. To quote from the BBC news website:
The BBC Weather Centre said overnight temperatures would fall to as low as -3C (26F) … where overnight temperatures plummeted to -4C …
“Plummeted”? To -4C? Well, that proves that global warming was all a sham.
Meanwhile, here were the temperatures in Finland on monday morning:
The Finns shrug their shoulders, drop their kids off at school (no reason for them to close), then drive off for a normal days work. Very cold weather with heavy snow doesn’t mean being trapped indoors. Instead, the Finns go out, take pictures and frolic in the forests dressed as Elves.
And on the subject of the Finns when it gets a bit chilly, here’s a comparison chart doing the blog rounds:
+15 °C:
The Spanish wear woolly hats and gloves.
Finns are sunbathing.
+10 °C:
Without much success, the French try to turn the heating on.
Finns start planting flowers.
+5 °C:
Cars in Italy don’t start up.
Finns drive convertibles and put their roofs down.
0 °C:
Water freezes.
The river in Helsinki turns a bit thick.
-5 °C:
National state of emergency declared in England.
Finns stop sunbathing.
-10 °C :
Scots turn the central heating on.
Finns change their t-shirts to jumpers.
-20 °C:
The Swedish stay inside; England is evacuated.
Finns barbecue a few more sausages before the winter starts.
-30 °C :
The Greek die.
Finns won’t hang their clothes outside anymore.
-40 °C:
Fake Santa Clauses move south.
Outdoor training of the Finnish Army is cancelled due to warm weather.
-50 °C:
The Danish lose their teeth.
Finns rent films and stay inside.
-60 °C:
Polar bears leave the North Pole.
The Finnish Army starts training outdoors.
-70 °C:
Siberians move to Moscow.
Finns lose their calm, because you can no longer store vodka in your garden.
-273 °C :
Absolute zero.
Finns say: “It’s bloody cold outside!”
-300 °C :
Hell freezes over.
Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
