I’ve often suggested to anyone who’ll listen (which at last count is no one) that those guilty of crimes against the environment (the owners of poison-pouring corporations, farmers annihilating the land in their possession, etc) should be treated far more harshly than they are.

And somebody appears to agree! This article from the Guardian’s Saturday magazine supplement asks Should we treat environmental crime more like murder? Yes. Yes, we should. I could outline why, but you should read the article because it’s a lot more compelling and coherent than anything I could churn out.

So, anyway. Mosquitoes. The disease-spreading nippers have finally made it to Iceland, being detected for the first time in the (formerly?) icy country this month.

Luckily for the Icelanders, the species exposed (Culiseta annulata) isn’t known as a vector of disease but is considered a pain in the arm(s).

Iceland’s Minister for Trouble, Helga Smith, said: “The collapse of our banking system, endless volcanic disturbances and now this. What next? Is Elon Musk coming over to stir up fascism?”

No, she didn’t. She didn’t say anything. I made her up.

On the other side of the world, meanwhile, South Korean fishermen are dying in large numbers – and many of them suspect climate change is to blame.

In 2024, 164 people died or disappeared in incidents in South Korea’s seas, up 75% compared to 2023.

Hong Suk-hui, chair of the Jeju Fishing Boat Owners Association, is unequivocal: “The weather has changed, it’s getting windier every year. Whirlwinds pop up suddenly. We fisherman are convinced it’s down to climate change.”

Wacky Telegraph columnist Alison Pearson opined: “It’s not climate change, which is fake, it’s Covid vaccines, ruining people’s swimming skills.” No, she didn’t. Or maybe she did. I dunno.

Moving on. Last week the Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote a letter to the government warning about temperature rises (which was no doubt read with the keenest interest). Now it’s launched an inquiry into the country’s preparedness for drought.

The CCC says: “England is on course for a public water supply deficit of five billion litres a day by 2055. With the risk of drought increasing, it’s a crucial time to take stock of the evidence on future drought risk, the government’s drought response processes and evaluate the plans to mitigate the impacts of drought in the future.”

It’s good to make plans regarding potential catastrophe. I’m sure the committee’s findings will be appropriately responded to.

What else? Some late news: President Trump and his henchmen have revealed plans to drill for gas and oil at Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Naturally.

And that’s that. Next week will be Halloween. Expect ghoulishness, horror, blood-curdling tales, despicable creatures of the night and satanic machinations – and I might do some stuff about Halloween too.