Little thoughts: The hottest July is just gone, well, so far.

The temperature hit records everywhere, and summer seems not just full of joy and holiday mood but some serious issues behind it.

“We can let July just be July. Let the sun hang in the sky.” A lyric from the song, July( Later on ), by Lily Williams. A song I have heard many times on Reels on Instagram. The rhythm is pretty and cheerful but also triggers other thoughts under the scorching hot sun.

Here in Taiwan, the electricity price has increased since July. But the higher costs can’t stop people from turning air-cons. Even the higher usage of electricity creates blackouts more than before. Then, the increased demand for electricity also produces more carbon dioxide and pushes climate change. It seems like a downward spiral.

I worked from home for a couple of days for some reason recently. In the afternoon, I could feel the heat coming through the walls when I sat in front of my desk. However, I didn’t turn on my air-cons because I wanted to have a walk after finishing the day, and I knew it wouldn’t be possible to go out if I turned it on. Therefore, I quite missed working in the office with the coolest air-cons and started appreciating that I had that comfortable place to work. 

I wondered about people who live in areas without air-cons, like the flat I used to live in, or the tube stations in London. I still remember when the temperature was about 30 degrees, I always walked from Victoria across St. James Park to Piccadilly to work. I preferred to spend an hour walking under the shadows of trees rather than taking public transportation and being overcrowded in the carriage without any air-cons. It made me feel like I was in a steamer.

As I mentioned in Feel nervous about climate change? Here are 3 simple actions I take in daily life. There were rarely air-cons in the buildings because usually just a few days were coming with the sun in Britain. However, even in tropical areas, some people are too poor to afford to install air-cons in their houses.

Climate change is not just a change in the weather or impact on wildlife or the environment but also polarises society. Affluent people can comfortably stay in a house with a relaxed atmosphere or fly somewhere near the sea, which is good for relaxing and holidays. In contrast, poor people may work exposed to the burning sun and can only drink some bottles of water to cool down. The heatwave may also put them in danger of heat exhaustion, heatstrokes or heart attack.

I have no choice but to turn on my life-saving air-cons during the night because I need good sleep for health reasons. But when I held my bottle of ice in the warm room with a fan in the afternoon, I thought it might be the only minor thing I could do for the environment at this moment.