So, much of the UK is gripped by a long cold snap with blasts of some pretty horrendous weather. While the Press whips itself into a frenzy over the country’s supposed inability to cope, I can still walk to the corner shop every morning and get a couple of litres of milk to feed the mob (although the Guardian didn’t make it this morning – quelle horreur!).

Here’s my hot takes on the Beast from the East:

• Sudden extreme weather is very difficult to prepare for. The reason the UK isn’t equipped with all the paraphernalia for deep snow is that we haven’t had any for 8 years, so it makes no sense to maintain all the snow chains etc ‘just in case’. A couple of years ago I visited the usually damp Portland, Oregon in the middle of a crazy heatwave and they were struggling to cope too. Unpredictability will make climate adaptation a real challenge.
• Many people expect no disruption during extreme events. From the guys trying to get up the steep hill outside my house when a couple of inches of snow has just fallen and failing (pic), to those stuck on motorways, I can’t help thinking the phrase ‘essential travel only’ gets interpreted very loosely. Hats off, though, to all the brave souls who are keeping the country running, from the gritters to the carers who really do have to battle through the elements.
• The old ‘I can see snow, therefore climate science is bunk’ zombie myth has risen again (two letters in our local paper today). Trying to persuade people that, as in 2010, the cold spell is being caused by anomalous warming in the Arctic is a hard sell as it is so counterintuitive – maybe not the best time to rebut such nonsense.
• One thing that we should be flag waving about is that at a time the country’s gas reserves are running low, the fact that 25% of electricity is coming from wind power is a very good thing indeed.