Dust storm in Tucson

So today at around 7:00 p.m., I noticed, as I was passing by my window, that the eastern side of Tucson was glowing—or rather, clouded—in an unusually brown mist.
Mhm—that is new, I thought, as I nonchalantly ignored this strange phenomenon and proceeded to attend to my duties.

My bedroom window faces east (haha, why we should face the East—which carries a deep Christian message too), giving me a nice view not only of Mount Lemmon in the distance, but also of the morning sun. This can be challenging, especially during summer, as the sun throws in its light quite early, forcing me to wake up. I have consequently had to find ways of increasing my “dark hours.”

Anyway, a few minutes later, I also noticed that the general lighting in my apartment had changed—to that same brown mist. This time, it was accompanied by strong winds and light showers. So I went out to check on the situation and, lo and behold—Tucson had welcomed the monsoon season in style: windy, humid, and with dust storms engulfing the whole city. I’m not a big fan of the monsoon season, but I love the disturbance it creates, making the otherwise boring, extremely hot summers a little bit entertaining. At the same time, the automatic emergency alert went off, warning Tucsonians to beware.

But my attitude shifted a little as I watched Tagesschau, and one reporter, while covering the heatwave in Europe, stated with concern that this year, for the first time, high temperatures had been recorded quite early. I don’t know how to feel about this, but the reality is that the seasons have changed—and, as experts say, climate change is the cause.

I’m reminded of a time I was too troubled, if not deeply concerned, about the world—I think it was just around when Greta Thunberg was coming into the limelight with her Fridays for Future mission. With this, I hope I don’t become too nonchalant and inconsiderate about my actions as they relate to the environment. But for now, I’ll sit back and enjoy—if I can say so—the monsoon season in Tucson, or rather, savour it all one last time.

Cheers.