IF anyone still thinks climate change is a hoax, feel free to call them an idiot, and a dangerous one at that. You probably have to get a time machine and go back more than 350 million years ago to when these islands were near the equator for the last time the temperature recorded 40 degrees anywhere near Scotland. Yet, we’re on track to reach that mark this week in the clearest indication yet that we are in the midst of a climate crisis.

This is not something that should be too surprising – albeit still shocking. As was reported on Monday, data from an annual UK climate report shows that this century so far has been warmer than the previous three centuries. Moreover, the top 10 warmest years for the UK since 1884 have occurred since 2002. Nine of the ten hottest days ever recorded have been since 1990. But to call it Global Warming is to my mind the wrong term, that sounds (especially in Scotland) benign, welcome even. A far better term is Climate Chaos.

Because along with hotter drier summers, winters have become far wetter. For example, 2020 was the UK’s fifth wettest year in a series of records dating back to 1862, whilst six of the 10 wettest years have occurred since 1998. Globally, parts of the world are getting drier, parts wetter, and everywhere more unstable with extreme events becoming the new normal. Nobody wins.

READ MORE: Scotland 'sets new temperature record' as heatwave scorches country

The consequence of this extreme weather is clear to see. Scotland’s farmers have been seeing it for years in strange weather and pests living longer – and in new parts of the country. So are hospitals and ambulances overwhelmed with victims of the extreme heat, schools forced to close, and pets with their paws blistering when being taken for their daily walks. And that’s before we get to buckled railway lines, melting tarmac and the increased costs of cooling workplaces, shops and homes.

Climate change is not a problem for 10 years down the line. It is right here, right now and having an effect that might not be devastating yet, but it is in the post. If nothing is done at all to tackle the climate crisis, then we may just look back in nostalgia at the cool summer of ’22.

The UK is notoriously bad at dealing with extreme weather. It can’t cope when it’s too hot nor when it’s too wet. Unlike countries which are used to routine extreme weather, we have neither the effective insulation nor the effective air conditioning to keep our homes habitable. We need to get serious about resilience.

Analysis by the Oxford Business Group found that about 80-85% of the energy consumed in Dubai is used for air conditioning. In the UK, it is estimated that under 5% of homes have air conditioning units installed at all. At the other end of the scale, our houses are unable to effectively retain energy during the winter, with the UK having the leakiest homes in western Europe. All of it exacerbated by the UK having the oldest housing in Europe and a very slow rate of housing replacement.

We need to adapt and we need to do it now.

The National: Prime Minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street, Westminster, London, to attend his penultimate Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament. Picture date: Wednesday July 13, 2022..

We have long called for the UK to take national resilience seriously and develop the civic contingencies needed to address crises such as these. Instead, the lame-duck Prime Minister (Boris Johnson, above) struggled as he has so often before to do his job, missing three emergency Cobra meetings on this week’s heatwave. He did, though, find time to fly a fighter jet and have a party at Chequers, if any further proof were needed of just how unfit for office he truly is.

Investing in our national resilience is a crucial first-step towards preparing for climate crises but it is only one step. Beyond having the effective programmes, institutions and personnel in place, we must also invest in our infrastructure and housing so that we can better cope with extreme weather. In doing so, we will also help to slash energy bills over the long-run and provide more sustainable and affordable housing. The massive jobs boost created by serious investment in retrofitting housing would also be a huge economic prize too.

The Scottish government has made a start, but we need to redouble efforts and under the current constitution that means a massive investment from the UK exchequer.

We also need to accelerate the Just Transition, another thing we’ll do better independent in Europe. This does not mean leaving communities behind but instead ensuring a faster transition towards a cleaner, greener future. Scotland’s energy resources are unique in Europe with vast quantities of wind, wave and tidal at our disposal. There is also the significant potential for the use of green hydrogen.

Not only would such investment help address the energy needs of these islands – it would also go a long way towards helping those of our friends and allies in Europe. As the war in Ukraine has demonstrated, reliance on a narcissistic dictator for your energy needs leaves you vulnerable to their whims. Far better then for the rest of Europe to have a strong and reliable energy powerhouse ally in Scotland!

It is too late to stop this year’s heatwave crisis – it is not too late to be prepared for the next one. Yet if we do not change course soon, no amount of mitigation will stop the world burning. We still have time for Scotland to play its part … but time for all of us is rapidly running out.