Graeme s picture went viral last week Were it not for Graeme and the rest of the volunteers from the Kindness Homeless Street Team – one of a number of groups and charities operating every night in Glasgow – braving the effects of Storm Darcy, many have asked what might have happened to those who needed their help most. It’s also caused outcry amongst the city’s political leaders who say the scene – compared to a struggling communist state in Graeme’s viral post – is not unique and should never have been allowed to happen. “The pictures of people queueing for emergency food in George Square are heart-breaking but unfortunately not an isolated case,”said Christy Mearns, a Green councillor.
WITH Scotland dipping to its coldest temper-atures for 35 years, and minus 21.9°C recorded in Braemar in Aberdeenshire in midweek, global warming may have been furthest from people’s minds. But while former US president Donald Trump and climate deniers may point to colder winters as evidence that climate change is not at play, the fact that Scots are shivering under Arctic conditions this February can actually be attributed to global warming. As we truly are experiencing Arctic conditions. The polar vortex that sits high above the Arctic in the stratosphere is believed to have fed this cold snap which has had us thumbing through spells of weather. During the winter, a jet stream of air that keeps the polar vortex in place sometimes weakens, allowing its chilly air to extend southward.