London turned 40 this year – temperature, not age – and I was there. It was like being present at a historic occasion, one that will be talked about for years, or at least till the temperature crosses 41 (which is expected to happen in the next couple of summers). The weather, already a participatory sport in Britain, has gained a new dimension.
Britons displayed a morbid fascination for that round number, one their country hadn’t seen before on their weather charts. For a while bookmakers were offering odds on which event would occur first – a Virat Kohli century or the temperature touching 40. The build-up in each case was riveting, and the thrill of the one coming to pass was matched only by the disappointment of the other failing to do so.
Babies born that day will know for a fact that life begins at forty. They will see more 40-degree summers in Britain than the present generation – thanks to the way we have been treating the earth they will inherit.
