The hottest June, ever

May 2019 around the middle of its second decade, stood a chance of being the coldest since 1991. Eventually, thanks to lack of incidences of extreme cold (no frost, +1.1C on 6 May was the coldest moment of the previous month) and after reasonably warm third decade, the mean temperature stood at +13.5C, not much short of the long-term (1981-2010) average of +14.0C.

The first days of June brought the first whiff of proper summer, long awaited after spring deficient in warmth we had got accustomed to in previous years. Day-time highs over the first decade of the month did not reach +30C. The first incidence of heat was recorded on 11 June. The month saw in total 8 days with temperature exceeding +30C (beating the yearly norm by 60%). Over the entire month the temperature did not fall below +12C. The heat waves were interspersed with just warmth…

The hotness reached its climax on 26 day of the month when June and all-time records were broken in several weather stations across Poland. In Warsaw the official meteo station on the fringes of Okęcie airport recorded +35.3C (thus the previous record set on 21 June 2000 of +35.1C was broken). Poland-wide record of +38.0C was also broken on that day, when +38.2C was measured in Radzyń, Wielkopolska. The heat eased off the day before yesterday and yesterday. I have made use of +12.1C dawn-time low yesterday to air out and cool down the dwelling and thanks to this I have enjoyed mere +24C inside, while outside temperature soared again to +35C (precisely it topped at +35.2C)

As I write this post, full-month temperature data lack the last 5 hours, but with a sufficient dose of certainty I might say the temperature averaged out +22.9C, which makes it the hottest June since records began (well ahead of June 1917 whose mean temperature ran at +20.4C) and the third hottest month in Warsaw since records began, after July 2006 (+23.5C) and August 2015 (+23.0C).

The current decade has been abundant in incidences of record-breaking heat and near-misses in that respect in Warsaw…

29 April 2012, +30.4C, when temperature peaked above +30C for the first time in April

8 August 2013, +37.0C, all-time heat record in Warsaw

21 March 2014, +22.4C, short of +23.0C March heat record

1 September 2015, +34.9C, new September heat record set

23 December 2015, +14.4C, short of +15.0C December heat record.

2 November 2018, +19.2C, new November heat record set.

If the global warming (no matter if the mankind has caused or has just contributed to inevitable natural trend) is not halted, heat waves will be more frequent and will last longer, making our lives more miserable… The climate is akin to a pot of water. While it gets hotter it begins to swirl. The same happens to the weather. Anomalous events, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cold snaps, blizzards will get more frequent. In terms of precipitation and temperatures we will see higher deviations from the mean, weather events will go into different extremes on different continents…

Short-term hope lies in long-term forecasts. July and August are predicted to be colder than June and near long-term average, which gives some hope for a nice warm, yet not sultry summer.

Delfin - book review

The book has become famous for mere one sentence which, if my memory serves me right (after reading the book myself, my copy changes hands and a queue of people waiting their turn to borrow it from is long enough for me to keep a list), can be found in the last paragraph at the bottom of page 239, in which the author mentions in passing Mr Morawiecki (current prime minister) and his wife have adopted two younger of their four children (one of tabloids has highlighted the piece of news which allegedly had been known publicly).

Conspiracy theorists (on whose side I am this time) claim the tabloid’s publication has fortuitously coincided with release of another book (I have also read it), by Tomasz Piątek, Morawiecki i jego tajemnice, which explores and backs by references links between Mr Morawiecki, his father Kornel and several people from Mr Morawiecki’s milieu with… Kremlin. Just like Mr Macierewicz, whose secrets, including ties with the Russia Mr Piątek had discovered, Mr Morawiecki does not feel like commenting on the book (suing for a libel does not come into play, since Mr Piątek brings up facts, ask numerous questions, but does not make affirmative statements).

Returning to Delfin, the author, Piotr Gajdziński, formerly a chief public relations officer of Bank Zachodni WBK (whose CEO Mr Morawiecki was between 2007 and 2015) and a close workmate of the current prime minister, actually washes the dirty linen in public. Shedding light on events from corporate past of Mr Morawiecki which took place more than a decade ago (Mr Gajdziński was fired by Mr Morawiecki in November 2010 for lack of line-toeing submission) does not take my fancy, but the end of familiarising ordinary people with what Mr Morawiecki is like, justifies the means. In this instance I believe the effort of the author has definitely been the lesser of two evils (the bigger would be keeping it to himself).

I will not divulge the content of the book, nor will paint the picture of Mr Morawiecki’s traits. I want you to reach out for the book and find it out yourselves! Cross my heart, to my best knowledge, which goes beyond what is written in the book, the picture painted there is accurate and by no means exaggerated. Those who know my identity realise what I wish to put across…

The transfer of Mr Morawiecki to politics was a great relief to Bank Zachodni WBK. Sadly, at the expense of the entire country. Mr Morawiecki has the right to have his own views (even despite pretending to have been someone else before his shift to politics), yet his traits of character should disqualify his from being a statesman (but make him a perfectly suitable candidate to perform managerial roles in wicked corporations). Each day of his premiership goes to the detriment of Poland not because of his views (which do currently do not square with mine, but did twice when I had chances to talk to him face to face), but because of what he is like.

Back from the recovery

Back in Warsaw, at home from the sanatory. The fortnight lasted quite long, yet I was doing my best to make the most of the pastime.

Friends familiar with the purpose of my journey had been wondering why I had not chosen a less distant destination (especially since long time spent behind the wheel is a hard time for lumbar spine). Firstly, my everlasting fondness for Dolnośląskie region draws me there, secondly, my only family well beyond Warsaw live in Jelenia Góra, who have kept me company for some time.

I also could have chosen a posh resort specialising in therapy, however given I am still rebuilding my savings after my flat purchase and the threat of a surgery (cost of PLN 30,000) and subsequent recovery has not been fended off, I have opted for a state-run sanatory with the full-board stay and three cure sessions per day set me back 175 PLN per night. If you count out three treatments which cost around 75 PLN, the remaining 100 PLN was the price for a single room and three meals a day (turning up to the canteen punctually at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. was infuriating to me) which was a cheapie, so I should not complain about the standard of a run-down two-star hotel which was my dwelling for nearly two weeks.

The usual day schedule from Monday to Friday was repeatable: three treatments between breakfast and lunch and then time off. The only weekend was also free of sanatory-based activity.

Not every day after morning treatments and exercises I had enough energy to take trips (some exercises and treatment can be exhausting), but I have done my best to make the most of my presence in South-western corner of Poland. I have not revisited places I had popped by in 2009 and 2013.

To the right, on the last day of May, I drove (without a car I would have gone crazy there) to visit Wodospad Kamieńczyka. I had been advised not to strain myself, so I slowly climbed a mile-long ascent, on the last section quite steep, but the effort was worth it. The waterfall in the seclusive, yet commercialized place is a marvellous venue.

On the next day I took a longer trip to see Zamek Czocha, one of less known attractions of the region, yet with fascinating history. The guided trip around the castle's nooks and crannies (duration 1 hour 20 minutes) is a must if you are in the vicinity of Jelenia Góra.

On Sunday I took my aunt and my niece for an all-day foray to the Rock City in Ardsprach, Czech Republic. The place had been recommended to me by many of my friends and they had been absolutely right. Despite crowds of visitors (most were Poles) and heat (+26C in the afternoon) the excursion was more than enjoyable.

The last destination of an afternoon trip on Wednesday before the check-out was Harrachov in Czech Republic, a winter resort famous for ski-jumping competition. My goal was to behold Mumlavsky Vodospad, literally a murmuring waterfall. Hidden in a forest and on business day in low season not plagued by droves of people. Only a group of Czech pupils were hanging around. I could not make a longer pause because of thunderstorm hanging in the air and threatening to burst out.

On my way back to Warsaw the obligatory stopover was Wrocław (one not-just-in-business visit this year ticked off). I walked around Ostrów Tumski and market square for more that an hour, then headed for an eatery to munch a lunch and set off to Warsaw.

Impressions?

My hopes for a company were dashed soon after the arrival. Average age of a sanatory guest is around 70, maybe except for some soldiers on a three-week ZUS-paid stay who began their day with a tin of beer before breakfast (and nobody bothered to pay attention to their inebriation); not my cup of tea. The very elderly people with their irritating habits can also make a young man’s life a misery.

My general observation is that the entire sanatory system ought to be torn down and built from scratch. In Poland a sanatory is a form of state-subsidised holidays for pensioners rather than form of cure for those in need regardless of age. My ideas for a turnaround are simple.

1. Prevention is better than cure, while sanatoria are focused on curing pain rather than on causes (in my instance, the goal was to prevent a surgery).

2. The system, just like in many other institutions, is based on pretending. If you don’t enforce what they are bound to provide you with, a sanatory will pretend to help you and you will pretend to be helped.

3. The sanatoria and towns where they are located should get focused on treatments only. Today, some parts of the ancillary business such as discotheques contribute to miracles of recovery then patients ill in the morning pull through on their way to the dancefloor.

Yesterday I was at the orthopaedist to have a professional examination of my MRI. I thought I was already on the mend, yet it turns out my spine might require a surgery in a few years, even despite continuous exercising. The vision of getting under a surgeon’s knife works as a first-rate motivation to me to sacrifice twenty to thirty minutes each evening to ward off the worst eventuality…