In January and February this year the planets of Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter aligned across the pre-dawn sky. According to experts that hasn't happened since 2005 and won't happen again until July 2020.
So what does it actually mean? As I write this it's 10pm in May in Dunedin. I'm wearing a T-shirt and shorts. It's 20°C outside. The Northern Hemisphere just had one of the best big-wave seasons in a very long time. When the stars last aligned the Earth had its hottest year since 1890. That year was also one of the most active for storms in the Northern Hemisphere. With the current El Nino weather pattern fueling the Pacific warming, 2015 broke new records in the Earth's surface temperature. This illustration put together by NASA helps to explain the extent of warming from 1880-2015. Most of the warming has happened in the past 35 years, with 15 of the warmest years occurring since 2001.
Whether you subscribe to global warming as a natural cycle or one influenced by humanity, you have to admit the weather anomalies do feel like nature trying to warn us. It's a warning worth heeding. Try not to be distracted by those long, deep-rooted ground swells that seem intent on sweeping up our coastline in regular swarms. Or the fact you're barely needing your full autumn wetsuit as winter approaches. Whether it's the stars or the natural cycle or the affliction of man, change is upon us.
As surfers we're at the coalface of it. Immersed in it. Thriving on it. Answering to it.
Here's what's in store for us this week.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS How good is it to see Tauranga surfer Kehu Butler rise to the top in the Pro Junior held at Cronulla, Sydney, at the weekend? Legend effort and a good sign that the future of New Zealand surfing is in good shape. Read the full story here on our Facebook page.
Proudly supported by:
