The Dog Days Of Climate Changed Heatwaves

A new study is out, reported on widely by the fawning media, suggesting that dog attacks will become more common as the planet heats up due to man-made global warming. Euronews says:

Climate change could make dog bites more common, new research has warned.

Dogs are 11 per cent more likely to attack people on days with higher UV levels, according to Harvard Medical School research.

The study - published in the Nature journal this month - examined data on dog bites in eight US cities between 2009 and 2018. The dataset included 69,525 reported dog bites, an average of three bites per day over ten years.

They found dog bites increased by 11 per cent on days with higher UV levels, 4 per cent on hotter days, and 3 per cent on days with increased ozone levels.

OMG. Climate change is like The Canine Zombie Apocalypse. As it gets hotter and hotter in our towns and cities there will be packs of mad dogs roaming the streets and alleys and the sun-baked parks, savaging humans on sight. Well, that’s the impression the ridiculous MSM want to give. But do you notice something? The main factor governing increasing dog attacks is higher UV levels (11%). The correlation between temperature and dog attacks is pretty weak at only 4%. Climate change manifests as an increase in global mean surface temperature across all seasons and is most evident in fact in an increase in night time minimum temperatures. There is no suggestion that emissions of greenhouse gases cause clearer skies, leading to higher UV levels; in fact the opposite is generally true, where fossil fuel combustion leads to an increase in both greenhouse gases and aerosol pollution, the latter which tends to reduce daytime UV levels. Also, with all these chemtrails covering our skies now, we should expect less aggressive pooches if bite-mania correlates positively with UV.

There’s also the rather obvious explanation that on hot sunny days, more people are out and about and far more people are walking their dogs versus when it is cold, wet, miserable and grey. I speak from experience. I walk my dogs in all weathers and there is a very noticeable increase of ‘fair weather dog walkers’ in the summer months, especially when the weather is fine and sunny. So obviously, the chances of grumpy dogs coming into contact with innocent (and sometimes very stupid) humans is that much greater than when it’s cold and raining, or overcast, when UV levels are very low.

The ‘Dog Days of Summer’ have been known about for a very long time and originally had very little to do with mad dogs:

The term “Dog Days” traditionally refers to a period of particularly hot and humid weather occurring during the summer months of July and August in the Northern Hemisphere.

In ancient Greece and Rome, the Dog Days were believed to be a time of drought, bad luck, and unrest, when dogs and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat! Today, the phrase doesn’t conjure up such bad imagery. Instead, the Dog Days are associated purely with the time of summer’s peak temperatures and humidity.

Why Are They Called the “Dog Days” of Summer?

This period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—which is where Sirius gets its canine nickname, as well as its official name, Alpha Canis Majoris. Not including our own Sun, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.

In ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome, it was believed that the dawn rising of Sirius in mid-to-late summer contributed to the extreme weather of the season. In other words, the “combined heat” of super-bright Sirius and our Sun was thought to be the cause of summer’s sweltering temperatures. The name “Sirius” even stems from the Ancient Greek seírios, meaning “scorching.” 

For the ancient Egyptians, the dawn rising of Sirius (known to them as Sothis) also coincided with the Nile River’s flood season. They used the star as a “watchdog” for that event.

The flooding of the Nile signified a time of plenty in ancient Egypt as crops were irrigated and fertile Nile silt inundated the low-lying farmlands. So the Dog Days were auspicious. The Greeks and Romans were far more wary of the period:

Unlike the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans were not as pleased by Sirius’s appearance. For them, Sirius signaled a time when evil was brought to their lands in the form of drought, disease, or discomfort.

Virgil, the Roman poet, wrote in the Aeneid that “fiery Sirius, bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light.”

Is this just superstition? A 2009 Finnish study tested the traditional claim that the rate of infections is higher during Dog Days. The authors wrote, “This study was conducted in order to challenge the myth that the rate of infections is higher during the dog days. To our surprise, the myth was found to be true.”

Now global warming is the inauspicious herald of the new, supercharged actual Dog Days where marauding canines go around attacking humans. except it’s not global warming, it’s nice warm, sunny days with lots of blue skies and unbroken sunshine. You know what they say though:

“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”

So watch out for Englishmen too.

Here’s one mad dog who certainly knows how to keep cool.