Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge has the topic hot or cold things.

On a cold day in December in Arlington Heights, IL, a flock of Canada geese walked on frozen pond…

There was no sitting on a bench on a snowy day at the end of October (and on that day it was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than it was in Chicago!)…

Overall, though, it has been a mild winter so far in Midwestern USA.

While only five months before, there was a heat wave in Europe and in Vienna, people lined up for water.

Our Viennese guide pumped water from a hydrant.

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Preparing this post has made me think of climate change, which is upon us all, as we enter a new decade. 2019 broke records for heat worldwide, as had each of the previous three years, and in the early summer of 2019, at least, this heatwave was acutely felt in Europe where people are not used to air conditioning. Later in July, a second heatwave swept across Europe, where the temperature in Paris soared to an unprecedented 43ºC (109ºF). In recent weeks, out of control fires due to hot, dry conditions have plagued southeastern Australia, where koalas are falling out of trees severely dehydrated and many have died if not immediately rescued. And all the while, ice is melting at both poles. Climate change is an existential threat to all living things on this planet. There’s no denying the facts of science. All nations need to take strong action now.