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I saw a news story tonight about the Colorado River drying up and 40 million people depend on it for their water. But of course, they are still watering their pretty lawns, washing their cars and sprinkling those golf courses. I'm sure politicians are afraid to ask them to stop because they won't get re-elected if they ask folks to make sacrifices.

Wow 😮

My town's air quality went back to normal. 😀

We're in the middle of a hosepipe ban which gets introduced during periods of low rainfall. It prohibits the use of hosepipes or similar equipment for activities including watering gardens, washing private vehicles and leisure boats, filling domestic swimming or paddling pools, ornamental fountains and garden ponds, except where such use is required for commercial purposes. Romania has had to shut its only nuclear power plant due to very low water levels in the Danube River.

The field next door to where I live caught fire the week before last, but luckily it was a reasonably small fire which the fire brigade put out fairly quickly. There was still a lot of smoke and all the cars were covered in ash the following morning. We think it was started by some idiot setting off fireworks (which are illegal in the Republic of Ireland) after several weeks of heatwaves and no rain. I think the only large wildfire we've had in Ireland this year was last month in Slievenamon, Co. Tipperary. There have also been wildfires across in the UK, but it's the ones in continental Europe that have been deadly this year.