The changes in climate that people think they experience are seldom real. Extremes of heat or cold, of drought or rainfall, occur at intervals, many years apart. Because those of childhood seem most dramatic, they are longest remembered, and we are easily tempted to compare present average weather with the remembered extremes. These extremes, however, can be expected to recur, and do not constitute a lasting change.
I do remember a hot spell in the mid-1950s when about 11 years old. I don’t remember any special cold years. In any case, we were prepared for cold, less so for excessive heat.
Maybe that hot spell prompted a window A/C. Too long ago now to remember. Never thought of these things as climate change. Seasons yes – climate change no.
I did experience a change in climate when I was about 24. I went from Western Pennsylvania to coastal Georgia, near Savannah. Thankfully, this was just for a visit.
FWIW. Back in the 90’s we started getting week-long heatwaves in northern CA. They lasted long enough so the house couldn’t cool down at night. We bought a portable air conditioner that we could roll out of a closet on those occasions when the heat waves moved in. We used it off-and-on that way for a couple of summers, but since the early 2000’s, it’s stayed in the closet because it just hasn’t been that hot.