One of the things about living in Warrington is we never seem to get the really extreme weather that other parts of the county suffers from.

Yes, I know we have the occasional flood if the tide on the Mersey combines with heavy rain but in comparison, we get off lightly.

But when was the last time Warrington was cut off for days by snow? In fact, you have to go back 10 years for the last heavy snowfall in the town.

If my memory serves me correctly, I recall the heavy snowfall and very low temperatures of January 2010 caused significant problems for the town with many major routes left dangerously ungritted after the council decided to get its rock salt from a mine in the north east rather than from Winsford, a couple of miles down the road.

But the fact I can remember the problems of 2010 just goes to prove my point. We don’t really have extremes of weather here.

Now I’m patently not a climate expert or meteorologist but I suspect the fact we get away with it year after year is probably due to the geography of Warrington. We don’t have mountains or hills that close to us and we’re pretty near to the coast which all probably combines to keep our weather pretty average.

But unless you are in denial about climate change, it seems pretty obvious to me that places around the globe are suffering from the kinds of extreme weather phenomena that can only realistically have come about because of man-made climate change.

Take Australia. After months of unprecedented drought that brought about the worst bush fires in living memory parts of the country were battered by record levels of torrential rain.

I don’t claim to have any answers but I do know I have taken some small steps to reduce my carbon footprint. I obsessively watch my smart meter and commute by train rather than car.

However, I am certainly no eco-warrior and I could probably do a lot more. But then again, I think we all could.

So it’s time to applaud those who are helping the environment a little.

Step forward Penketh Parish Council. Back in 2013, it took the decision to ‘green up’ Penketh,

The parish council joined forces with Warrington Borough Council, to plant trees in down the A562 dual carriageway and on Doe Green roundabout in the hope the extra greenery would absorb emissions from cars using the major arterial route into town.

Parish council chairman Dave Simm said: “Measurements taken before and after show that emissions along the A562 were lower after the trees were planted.”

So the scheme has been voted a success and now the parish council wants to go further and Cllr Simm added: “Pledging to double the amount of trees will really help the climate change challenge.

“This season we plan to plant trees in Penketh Gardens, Greystone and Withenshaw Recs and replace the centrepiece tree on Doe Green island. We also have a commitment to replace the large tree that we lost outside the health centre.”

Good work, Penketh Parish Council. I wonder if other parish councils around the town are planning anything similar.