Editorial
The Metrological department’s prediction of a deficient monsoon this year is a cause of major concern across the nation, sparking fears of a drought situation. India witnessed an unusual heatwave this May, with soaring temperatures in many states. The death toll was more than 2,300, making it the fifth deadliest in world history.
These are not isolated incidents but warnings of worse times to come. The alarm bell was rung by the minister for earth sciences, Harsh Vardhan. “It’s not just another unusually hot summer. It is climate change,” said the minister who announced the likelihood of a deficient southwest monsoon. Vardhan said there was no certainty when the June-September monsoon, on which nearly half of India’s farming community depends, would arrive. Sadly, announcement of policy changes that would help improve the situation for the future was not forthcoming from the minister. The government’s helplessness in this regard signals that India is still not ready to take up the challenges of climate change seriously.
Harsh Vardhan’s statement has assumed significance as mostly human activities have been identified as major factors leading to climate change and global warming and it is high time India takes responsibility for its part.
Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, said the heatwave can be attributed to “human-caused climate change”. This is especially significant in the Indian context. India is getting hotter as people continue to pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It’s latest report, produced by 1,250 international experts and approved by every major government in the world, said the risk of heat-related mortality would rise due to climate change and population increases, along with a greater risk of drought-related water and food shortages. The IPCC report also says that not enough effort has been made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as these emissions are increasing by at least 1.3 per cent every year.
Climate change is influencing many extreme heat events across the world, said Marshall Shepherd, the atmospheric sciences programme director at the University of Georgia. This is of significance since these changes are having adverse impact on our economy and health, with scientists warning of a disaster if the situation is not checked now.
Changes in the climate not only affect water resources, agriculture and ecosystems but also human health by raising the risk of death and illness. Technological advancement allows us to take preventive measures by manufacturing cleaner vehicles and home devices that use less gas and building less polluting power plants and factories. However, these solutions are not implemented in India in earnest.
What is required is decisive action to minimise further damage to the environment and reduce the consequences of climate change. This action needs to be taken at the local, national and international levels with equal eagerness. Measures must be taken and legislation introduced to drastically reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Automobile manufacturers must be made to produce fuel-efficient greener vehicles and consumers encouraged to buy such vehicles. Laws should be brought in for buildings to be energy efficient. Besides, public transport could be upgraded to make it more popular.
Corporate and industrial houses need to be forced to pitch in and adopt procedures and use equipment that result in a significant reduction in emissions. The government, on its part, needs to invest in research into clean and renewable sources of energy and technologies that would help mitigate the effects of the damage that has already been caused. With minister Harsh Vardhan’s admission, it is easy to get the drift of the Damodardass Modi government. The corporate- funded PM obviously has no time to think of climate change. Modi had himself said a few months back that ‘it is not the climate that’s changing, it’s the people’. In such a situation, people will need to bring in changes in the right direction to avert the impending disaster.
