Weekly Reflection – What Weather!

St Swithun’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithun’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain nae mare

St Swithun, whose feast day falls next week on 15 July, was a ninth century Bishop of Winchester. His translation (re-burial) from his original grave outside the walls of the minister church in Winchester to a newly built shrine inside the church coincided with a dramatic thunderstorm accompanied by torrential rain. This was thought to be a sign of his miraculous powers and gave rise to the legend described in the rhyme at the top of this piece. History is silent about why heavy rain – not uncommon in the British Isles, even in summer – should be a sign of miraculous power, but it is a charming legend which has enabled St Swithun to retain name recognition in contemporary popular culture when most medieval English saints have fallen into obscurity.

My climate correspondent, Ms G Oogle, informs me that there is a modicum of scientific sense behind the legend. She says: “Around the middle of July, the jet stream settles into a pattern which, in the majority of years, holds reasonably steady until the end of August. When the jet stream lies north of the British Isles then continental high pressure is able to move in; when it lies across or south of the British Isles, Arctic air and Atlantic weather systems predominate”. So far this summer the jet stream seems to have been in the wrong position. Let’s hope it’s on the move as I write, and that the rather wet summer we have had so far will give way to something a little more like the summers we all remember -or think we remember.

Legends and the desire for a ‘proper’ summer apart, changes in the climate across the globe in the twentieth century have become an increasingly urgent issue for scientists and non-scientists alike. These changes have given rise in recent decades to drought and more general water scarcity; forest fires; rising sea levels; flooding; massive reduction in polar ice; catastrophic storms; and declining biodiversity. The scientific consensus is that human activity associated with the industrialisation of the last two centuries is the principal cause of the climate emergency. Humans cannot easily undo the damage that has already been done, but we can all play our part in working for a future in which we recognise the interconnectedness of all things and the consequences of irresponsible use of the earth’s resources. Given our self-understanding as stewards of God’s creation, Christians have a particular responsibility to play our part in working towards a better future. May it be so.

With love and prayers.
Dean Simon