As we enjoy the glorious weather we could be forgiven for thinking that global warming is not such a bad idea after all.

No need to go abroad for a tan, shirt sleeve order most days and garden fetes and test matches not being ruined by the rain.

But the annoying bites and itches everyone seems to get should act as a reminder that not everything is rosy in the garden. The current climate is ideal for midgies and there are reports of super-flies, more resilient and with a sharper bite than their predecessors, arriving on these shores.

And as you sip a long cool drink in the evening shade, can you be sure the rustling of the hedgerow is down to a welcome breeze rather than the massive explosion in rat numbers?

In Kent, Ms Kayleigh Turnbull reports how she was cornered in her kitchen by a four inch long African Emperor Scorpion. It probably escaped from captivity but the fact is our climate can now support such exotic beasts.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of the pika from various parts of North America is causing concern. Dr Catarina Cordosa, of the World-Wild Fund for Nature's Climate Change Programme, says this round-eared hamster-like creature which now faces extinction is "like the canary in the coalmine when it comes to climate change".

Of course there are positives for the British fans of flora and fauna. An increase in the number and range of butterflies and moths, the emergence of new songbirds and, of course, a bountiful harvest for many British farmers who look set to be climate change winners as opposed to their drought threatened contempories of Southern Europe.

It's difficult to know whether to laugh or cry, but the most worrying statistic coming from France should make us all take note. Undertakers there have reported an unprecedented rise in business, with the long, hot summer being blamed for hastening over 10,000 deaths. The country's surgeon general has resigned and the government is coming under increasing pressure to act.

But there's only so much politicians can do. In the end it is up to the public to heed the warning that change is needed if we are to at least slow down global warming.

If we don't then we will find that today's pika is tomorrow's human being.

There can be few less popular tasks on a hot summer's day than sitting in a room, sweating over an exam.

So congratulations to all students who have passed their exams: you can only answer the questions in front of you, so ignore the bores who say it was harder in their day.

Of course, there will always be schools who have achieved a phenomenal number of A passes or whatever, and they deserve praise.

But in Middlesbrough, where our teaching staff have some of the most challenging jobs in the country, one statistic really stood out. Nine of our schools recorded a 100 per cent pass rate for key stage 1 and 2 exams - that's youngsters aged seven and 11 - with many others also recording superb results.

That is a tremendous achievement by pupils and teachers, and bodes well, not only for our children's future, but also the future of the region.