Yesterday marked Vancouver’s coldest November 23rd on record. Thermometers plummeted to temperatures that, in other parts of the country, would be considered balmy.
When human beings react to weather extremes it has less to do with temperature scales and more to do with the degree of deviation from that which would be considered ‘normal’ for their part of the country. That makes perfect sense: what’s ‘cold’ in southern BC is very different from what’s ‘cold’ in Whitehorse.
But, what I find more surprising is that it is not only humans that adapt to their environments—becoming softer in warmer regions and tougher in colder ones—I’m beginning to think that even our technology develops variable thresholds of tolerance.
For example: after 5+ consecutive days of average minimum temperatures below -5°C, Vancouverites were advised to look out for burst pipes. People living on the Prairies or in the North don’t even think about their pipes until the mercury drops 20 or 30 more degrees. It makes one wonder … are not all pipes created equal?
Another example is our vehicles: this is my first winter with my current car. It was a sunny -14°C when I put the key in the ignition this morning and, with a reluctant diva-like moan, she finally deigned to turn over. I have driven the same make of vehicle for nearly three decades. I have lived in the North, kept my vehicle out of doors and, only on very rare occasions, have I had difficulty starting a car. This younger version that I now own was clearly born and raised on the West Coast. Would she even survive in a northern Ontario winter?
My final example to support my theory that even technology goes ‘soft’ in warmer climes also occurred this morning. I was checking out at my local supermarket when, after four unsuccessful attempts to use my debit card to pay for my purchases, the cashier told me the system was down because of the cold weather! So, how on earth do the residents in places like Winnipeg, Prince George, or Calgary—currently basking in -30ยบ temperatures before the wind chill factor—buy milk?
How do they coax their vehicles out of bed in the morning, or convince their plumbing to just grin and bear it?
Well, I’m heading out again. I’m going to talk to Mildred—that’s my car—about her older and tougher predecessors and the winters they endured in the North ... just maybe I can appeal to her sense of pride and convince her to be a bit more stoical.
