Yes, that’s in degrees celcius. Source: Supplied
“IT’S too freezing to go anywhere.
“Goodness, 18 degrees here. Frrrreeezing.”
That was the (very serious) message from a family member who apparently has no concept of reality.
Yes, it’s winter in Australia. I was like you, once. I would complain about how those 10-degree days would send a shiver up my spine, I would wrestle every morning with the horrible thought of breaking free from my cocoon of comfort.
I dreaded winter, in fact. Every year.
But then, in December, in the height of the northern winter, I moved to New York.
And I will never complain about an Australian winter again.
Lately, my Facebook feed is flooded with moans and groans from back home about how tremendously cold it is Down Under, about the struggle of a 4C Melbourne morning, about how horrible it is to have to scrape the thinnest of layers of ice off one’s windshield.
Ugh. It must be tough. Sooooo tough.
I have one thing to say to you, Australia.
Suck it up.
No one likes to be cold, we get it. But a little bit of perspective here, folks.
It’s not snowing. It’s not freezing. And you’re cold because you’re not wearing enough layers. Just sayin’.
A New York winter is slightly lower than freezing factor. Can you imagine living through, temperatures that hit below -20C days? Add in wind chill and your face feels like sandpaper. Non. Stop. Sandpaper.
There’s no choice but to wear layers. And you won’t survive without thermals.
Heck, even New York officials ordered the homeless people off the street for fear they’ll freeze to death.
You might remember the “blizzard” that almost bore down upon the city? That shut down subways. The stock exchange. That forced the city’s famous yellow cabs off the road. You know when McDonald’s shuts, it’s got to be serious.
And New York’s not even the worst of it.
In Russia, one town’s sunshine was cut short after a snowstorm blanketed the village — IN SUMMER.
The country’s far east has been forced to endure a freezing summer after a cyclone hit the Kamchatka peninsula, bringing with it heavy rain, fog, and lows of 8C.
“First of all, there is no heating. It is cold,” resident Maria Mot told Ukraine Today.
“Secondly, there is no hot water. So it is certainly cold in the bathroom. A towel dryer does not work. We turn on our heater, pour water, and only then we bathe our son because we need to warm up the room at least somehow so that a child will not freeze.”
Meanwhile, before the UK’s heatwave hit, last month the average temperature from June 1-15 was a measly 11.2C, tipping it to be the coldest summer month since June, 1991.
That’s a nippy winter’s day back home, guys. C’mon. You get my gist now?
So next time you think about complaining about the apparent freeze, throw on another layer, and suck it up.
Because trust me, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Source:: news.com.au