Aotearoa New Zealand is not a tropical country, despite our location in the fabled south pacific. Today I saw news that the country is facing an “unprecedented heatwave,” and there were record temperatures for the year.

The thing is, it’s 19c/66f today in Wellington, during this heatwave! The hottest parts of the country are warmer today, 31c/87f. This is not what most of the world would even consider to be a hot day. My daughter tried to go swimming but lasted only a few seconds in the water today.