Is Climate Change Real?

Climate change is an exigency whose ignorance may shove the human

kind to unanticipated circumstances. It’s the talk of the globe, from NASA to

the United Nation assemblies to World economic forum, it has indeed

become a global agenda because none will be spared from the

repercussions of climate change considering that it knows no boundaries.

In the words of global leader, Barack Obama “Climate change is no more a

far off problem, it is happening here, it is happening now. There is one

issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than

any other and that is urgent threat of climate change.”

Before we begin to delve into the intricacies, lets understand what climate

is? Climate is usual weather of a place that may change from season to

season, but the excessive exploitation of nature by human beings has

exacerbated the normal cycle and climate has foraged on a wayward

direction that may lead to an unfortunate end of human species. The

evidence of it is starkly visible from the frequent climatic disturbance i.e

increase in sea level, no seasonal rainfall, inundated cities, rise in drought

stricken states, fall in agricultural production,surge in global prices and

escalation in diseases due to increase in global temperature like skin

cancer and other fatal outcomes.

Be it Hurricane dorian in US or hurricane Lorenzo in Ireland, Be it

indonesian forest fires or catastrophic amazon fire, Be it deluged Bihar,

Rajasthan and Madhya pradesh or the drastic drought of kerala that

brought life to a standstill, they have all happened not long ago and the list

goes on. The moral of the story is the climate change is real and emergent,

it is growing and getting larger. We are not far away from the day when bad

air, polluted water and chemical loaded food will be a new normal and the

developing countries will bear the larger brunt. A report by Greenpeace

says that 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities are in India, the poor are

getting poorer under the burden of high prices, diseases and lack of

amenities to brave the climate change

However, The irony is despite the million instances, human greed has not

come out to resolve this climate emergency, discussions at the world

forums and the rise of one or two will not solve this but climate change

requires collective action of humankind, There need to be zeal like one of

Greta Thuneberg, the young climate activist from sweden who has up her

ante for the cause. Yet, the support for pulling down the trees in Aarey

colony of Mumbai and other intrusion with environment in the name of

development signifies nothing but our gross negligence.

It is not a time where we have the luxury to let go of the world’s most

developed and carbon consuming countries like USA from climate accord,

it’s not an era to bolster nuclear weapons or to prepare for war against

each other.We are rather on the verge where climate change should affect

us more than the economic slowdown but Alas! We are still not ready to put

off our materialistic armour. It’s commendable how Britain has declared

Climate emergency forcing the parliament to take climate actions more

seriously, the need of the hour is not limited to ratifications and conventions

but the responsibility to undo the harm caused to the environment has to be

shared equally by every world citizen. According to an ongoing temperature

analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space

Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by

about 0.8° Celsius since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since

1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15-0.20°C per decade however under Paris

climate agreement, nations had set a goal of limiting warming to 3.6°F, or 2 °C

and this requires cutting down the world’s consumption to one third which is

not an easy task but the one that requires grit and devotion.

In a nutshell, it’s the time to catch the gauntlet against the ceaseless

destruction of the environment and begin our contribution from the ground

level, let’s not wait for any magic to happen because” If not now then when, If

not I then who.

(Written by Sushmita, 2nd year law student at USLLS, GGSIPU)