Scientists say there’s no direct link between extreme heat which Jamaicans and others in our geographic region are currently experiencing and earthquakes, such as the twin events which devastated Venezuela last month.

But we are also told that there is connection between all natural phenomena in some way, shape, or form, even if only indirectly.

So, it seems to us, people should be forgiven for wondering.

In terms of heat, Jamaicans and their neighbours are thankful for that strong cooling breeze typically blowing east to west, commonly referred to as the trade winds.

On the downside, it’s the same breeze which carries Saharan dust thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean — seen from miles away as a greyish, whitish mist in the air, masking our majestic central mountains and endangering the health of people struggling with asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions.

As our latest Sunday edition reminds us, the authorities have been cautioning vulnerable people to protect themselves by staying indoors as much as is practicable, wearing face masks, and protecting their eyes.

We are told that harvested water should be treated, and drinking water covered.

Of course, the trade winds are also conveyor of Atlantic hurricanes and storms originating off the coast of Africa which seasonally afflict our region — Category 5 Hurricane Melissa last October being a prime example.

We’ve been hearing for some time that the El Niño weather pattern which originates in the tropical Pacific is a major contributor to the current heatwave. We are warned about the likelihood of resulting dry conditions leading to greater inflow of Saharan dust. Far less rainfall than usual amounting to drought in some cases seems likely.

On the upside, El Niño could mean fewer Atlantic storms — though, as the experts keep saying, we must stay prepared since it is the hurricane season and it only takes one to wreck lives.

We are relieved — as we suspect are most people — that the sense of an increased frequency of earthquakes is only imagined.

Ms Karleen Black, scientific officer at the Earthquake Unit, and Dr Simon Mitchell, professor of sedimentary geology at The University of the West Indies (UWI), say it is the actual reporting of felt earth tremors that have increased not actual events.

It turns out that only earthquakes that are reported as having been felt by people prompt the issuance of a public bulletin by the Earthquake Unit.

“What we have noticed is that since the October 30, 2023 earthquake (which triggered considerable panic in sections of Jamaica) persons have been a little more aware of even the slightest bit of shaking… so there seems to be more reporting. But…the number that we’re seeing is not suggesting that we’re having more earthquakes,” said Ms Black.

The long history of major quakes in Jamaica and our neighbourhood, including the Haiti earthquake of 2010 and last month’s calamitous twin events in Venezuela, have added to anxiety, we are sure.

But as is well established, panic doesn’t help, preparation does.

Earthquake safety drills should be something Jamaicans do as a matter of habit, and the authorities should be encouraging and insisting on that habit since as Ms Black reminds us, “Earthquakes can happen at any time.”