LONDON - The continent of Europe, annoyances growing frustrated with Mother Nature's multiple meltdowns, awakes today to a rudely bestowed dearth of olive oil. As breakfast tables mourned their greasy loss and Italian nonnas cursed the undercooked pasta, the world reportedly had to console itself with butter and palm oil. The audacious fickleness of the global climate seems to have uttered the ultimate 'screw you', proving once again that from unpredictable snow in the Sahara to olive oil dearth, Mother Nature does have her irksome diva moments. These environmental "hissy fits" as some flippantly described it, have indeed led to the loss of one of Europe's most essential staples: the ever-sacred and frequently dribbled, olive oil. The culprit, as pointed out by countless scientists critiquing the environment's dramatics, is an unusual period of heavy rainfall followed by uncharacteristically high temperatures. A recipe, apparently, for absolute fruity tantrums among olive trees. Suggestions of tree therapy are doing the rounds but are largely dismissed as a harebrained scheme by those saying we ought to respect the tree's personal space. As Europe scurries around attempting to clean the mess Mother Nature left in her wake, the global olive oil market is simultaneously thrown into chaos. Prices have skyrocketed, reaching peaks so far unseen that they might as well be whispering sweet nothings to the satellites orbiting Earth. This abrupt scarcity has prompted fears of an ‘olive oil crisis’, with speculations that brunch enthusiasts might soon have to slather their sourdough toasts with juggernauts of the spread world, like margarine. Just when we all consented that 2020 couldn’t get any worse. Meanwhile, global warming remains a contentious issue with some conspiracy theorists performing a 'the world is flat' 2.0 act, by dismissing it as nothing more than a hoax. This, just as Mother Earth one-ups her sassy walk-off by serving us droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, and now - what's this? An olive oil crisis. In the age-old battle between man and nature, we've seen nature spit volcanic ash at airplanes, wipe out dinosaur dynasties, and now victimize a pasta dish by robbing it of an ingredient. No one is quite sure what compelled Mother Nature to deprive Italians of their olive oil, the lifeblood of their culture. Some attribute it to her increasing dissatisfaction with humanity's reckless disregard for the planet, while others suggest it was simply the aftermath of a particularly heated discussion with Father Time over who had ultimate climate control authority. While Europe is now drowning their bread in tears and a questionable olive oil facsimile, the rest of the world watches – oscillating between shock and an ill-concealed schadenfreude. It seems only one thing is certain – who knew life without olive oil could create global consternation that overshadows even the pandemic. Carpe diem – or should we say, carpe olivam?