Weather - hot or cold, wet or windy -we cannot control, and we cannot forecast with any accuracy for more than a few days ahead. Dr Johnson once noted that when two Englishmen meet their first talk is the weather, with "each in haste to tell each other, what each must already know". Nevertheless in recent weeks, as the temperature has soared, and a heatwave has been quickly followed by a drought, the meaningless conversation about the weather has suddenly become more meaningful.
A heatwave occurs when the temperature exceeds twenty-five degrees centigrade for a number of days, while a drought is declared after fifteen days with little or no rain. Ireland is not only in the grip of a heatwave but according to Met Eireann, the country is now in a state of "absolute drought".
Few can agree when summer starts: meteorologists insist it is June, others say a month earlier. Yet it hardly matters. For the public, summer is judged by one criterion, sunshine: without it the season exists in name only. Ireland’s heatwave status confirms that summer has finally come, while reviving memories of other golden days in 2006 and 1995. After five years of austerity, a few weeks of sustained sunshine will do much to raise flagging public spirits. And it will give the tourism industry a welcome boost at a difficult time.
The fine weather has been what many had hoped for, but few expected. A notable exception, however, was a New Zealand weather expert. Last January, Ken Ring, who makes long-term forecasts by gauging moon and tidal activity, accurately predicted Irish weather patterns for much of this year - including a scorching summer. Mr Ring's claims were then quickly dismissed as "ridiculous" - by a Met Eireann forecaster. For sun worshippers, the good news is that Mr Ring predicts a renewal of heatwave conditions in the second half of August. After that the swallows will be ready to depart, signaling that sun and summer may finally be over.