Alarmingly warm

The dangers and after-effects of climate change are manifesting themselves with increasing frequency, more intensity and longer duration all over the world. As per a US study, the number of heat waves striking America in 2010 had climbed to six per year, from two per year around 50 years ago. The latest to feel the heat are northwest US and western Canada which are reeling under a heat wave. It is believed to have been caused by the heat dome that was formed due to the cocktail of high atmospheric pressure, climate change and drought. These factors are conducive for trapping the heat and keeping the air warm, like a lid on a cooking pot does.

People in cities like Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and Surrey that normally enjoy pleasantly mild summer temperatures (ranging from 11 to 22°C) — with most homes not even requiring a fan — are scrambling for ACs as the mercury has soared to breach the sizzling 46-degree mark. The 49.6°C recorded in Lytton, British Columbia, was five degrees hotter than Canada’s earlier highest temperature of 84 years ago. The region has registered a sudden spike in deaths and it is being related to the roasting conditions and hyperthermia. The blazing heat has imperiled crops and some roads and other structures are cracking and crumbling as they are not resilient enough to withstand such excessive heat.

The global warming-induced extreme weather events are a matter of concern and call for urgent remedial measures as they upend life and infrastructure with little warning. India is no stranger to the devastation wreaked by climate change. It has been suffering floods more frequently in the recent times due to the melting glaciers and receding coastlines. Unusually hot and longer summers are becoming the norm. The efforts to halt the warming of our planet — it has become dangerously warmer by more than 1°C since 1900 — are, unfortunately, not enough to lower the rate of carbon emissions. Concrete steps are needed to leave a liveable planet endowed with enough essential resources for the generations to come.