Waiting to Burn

Breaking news. In an unprecedented turn of events we are now experiencing a heatwave worldwide, but what does it mean? Scientists have been investigating the event but have been forced to go back to the drawing board as it were because nothing about any of this makes any logical sense. Londoners found themselves in a unique situation yesterday when the temperature soared to Thirty-five degrees Celsius, this is not an all-time high overall, but it is easily the hottest it has ever been in Britain during the winter months. The previous record was Twenty-One according to sources. There are similar reports worldwide of temperatures continuing to soar. We are getting reports that some countries are warning residents to stay in doors as temperatures reach unsafe levels in parts of Italy, India and the United States amongst other countries. The Prime Minister is urging residents to be careful, stick to the shade where possible. We are not at dangerous levels yet, but precautions must be made....

December 29th 2023

I just caught the news about what some people are calling the heatwave epidemic. I switched the television off. Enough is enough. I know it’s hot, I can feel it. If they don’t have an explanation, then what is the point? Of course, all that about the scientists being clueless is all hogwash. These are the world’s most brilliant minds. They know something, how could they not? It’s getting hotter every day and in the winter of all seasons. My name is Will Kingston, and I caught a tan on Boxing Day, and as a British man let me tell you that there is something unnatural about that. I’m worried about the bigger picture too. What is the maximum temperature that the human body can tolerate and are we going to face it soon? What about flooding? Surely that’s a risk too. They have told us that temperatures are rising worldwide, so it stands to reason that the ice must melt in places like Antarctica and Greenland. We aren’t being shown the big picture, though. They won't want to be responsible for a panic. People will panic if the truth comes out because if what we know is true, then we are all going to burn to death or be caught up in a massive flood, and the outcome from the latter doesn’t look too Bright either. 

January 18th 2024

Three weeks have passed. The temperatures begin to soar. People are dying at an alarming rate. The religious nuts are calling it the wrath of god, but I’m not a religious guy. I’m more inclined to call it hell in a hand-basket if said basket was radioactive and full of grenades. Forty-seven degrees is the new highest recorded temperature for Britain. I think that was in Brighton. Here in London it has gone little higher than forty-two. When are they going to tell us what to expect? If we are dying, don’t we deserve to know?

February 12th 2024

You would never believe it, but I have the news that the entire world has been dreading. The world is burning. I don’t know how it happened but I received an email that was not intended for me. That’s the problem with email addresses, you only need to mistype one letter, and there’s a chance that the email is going to go somewhere else. I couldn’t tell you word for word what this email said. It was very scientific, I’m not the world's smartest man but i got the jist of it. I’ll tell you in my own words. 

This guy who sent the email, he’s a scientist of some sort based at Salford University. One of many scientists worldwide looking into this, I don’t doubt. He had been studying the behaviour of the sun. That part didn’t surprise me. If it gets too hot, the sun is a good place to start. What information I stumbled across next not only baffled me, but had even baffled the scientists who have been studying it, the world’s smartest minds left scratching their heads, can you believe it? The sun has reached its red giant phase apparently. Now, I won't lie, I didn’t know what that meant at first so I googled it. It turns out that the red giant phase is what becomes of the sun when it is dying. It’s heat becomes more intense, it increases in size, and it even has the chance of absorbing other planets if I understand correctly. Here is the baffling part though, the sun isn’t supposed to be in its red giant phase yet if the experts are to be believed. This event should not be occurring for another five billion years! It makes little sense, and yet it makes sense. The scientists believe that this is the only explanation for the temperature increase worldwide and scans of the star have confirmed it too. Like I said though, I’m not the world's most intelligent man so please don’t ask me to prove it. I know nothing. This could easily be a fake email, a prank, but what if it isn’t? It is like a work of science fiction, but it seems authentic to me. 

February 15th 2024

The heat is now unbearable. I’ve been drinking water like it’s going out of fashion but I just can’t seem to cool down. I feel tired too, like I haven’t slept in months. There are intense headaches too that cannot be bargained with. I should be resting, yet I can’t take my eyes off that email, it’s terrifying. I’ve been googling all things red giant too, I probably shouldn’t, but I wanted to know more. I was worried about floods, but now it seems that my fears were misplaced. Based on what I have learned, the sun may or may not consume earth, but either way all life on earth will end. The heat from the sun will cause the oceans to boil and evaporate. Without water, there will be no life. I don’t even know if we can survive that long though, I don’t believe there has been any official announcement, even after all this time, so we don’t know what type of temperatures to expect. If I am to die and anyone should read this before life all comes to an end, please know that I died with one question on my lips; Am I waiting to burn or waiting to starve and go thirsty?