Europe did see a hot and dry summer. Here in Japan/Kanto area, the summer was not as hot as last years, and due to the stronger El-Niño we have much more rain than usual, and now in this season more taifuns than usual. Had a chat with a friend yesterday, the one I've visited by bike to help rice planting: - rice harvest was not particularly bad for him, but catching a sequence of dry days for harvest was hard - his さといも/Taro plants have been twice as high as normal - fish catching has changed