The news that Canada, Spain and France are seeing flames this year, along with the Scottish highlands, is news to nobody on this planet. It is a potent symbol of our collective failure to tackle climate change on a large scale, one would say. I would like us to have sorted out the climate catastrophe, as a Radio 4 expert labelled it this morning, but as I say to my offspring, we cannot deal with what we would have liked to have happen, we have to deal with what is in front of us. This is us now.

While it is depressing that we can’t seem to stop the fires, we have had success with other areas as a species. Lots of whales now (no more hunting), where there were few, for example. It is a bumper crop for butterflies this year. London’s overall pollution levels have dropped, thanks to electric cars and vans and maybe the ultra low emission zone. I don’t know, the sky is a lot clearer where I live. Solar panel installations are epidemic now.

Let us look at those and then go back to tackling the heat. And no, having ever more air conditioning units is not the only answer, but keeping cows cooler and less stressed is a key goal, as well as making that chill chain we all rely on more environmentally friendly in various ways.

I think the issue of heat is also one that is a bit subjective depending on where you live. My American friends discussed how it cooled down to the 80s (28 or so) from the latest heatwave. In the UK, that is a heatwave. Once it hits 30 here (86), the panic starts to set in. There are lots of alerts and we all clutch our reusable water bottles. Stay cool, wherever you are.