Ignore extreme climate at your own peril

AMID reports of the destruction caused by heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers, news has come regarding breaches in the dhussi bundhs in Majha and Doaba regions of Punjab. My mind goes back to 1971-73 when I was posted as SP, Kapurthala. The area had been prone to heavy flooding until the dhussi bundh came up during the time of Partap Singh Kairon. It was his initiative and the hard work done by Balwant Singh (who later became Finance Minister of Punjab) which led to the successful completion of the embankment. Well before the rainy season, the Deputy Commissioner used to call a meeting of the officers concerned regarding its maintenance. Thereafter, led by the DC, we would inspect the weak spots, meet the villagers and discuss their problems. Follow-up action was taken. Later, the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) came and inspected the entire bundh along with us and reviewed the contingency arrangements. He even inspected the equipment and tested the boats. Thereafter, when the rains came, we were ready to meet all challenges.

Control rooms were set up at district and state HQs to monitor the flood situation and related matters. That is the reason why reports of devastation disturb me, as it seems that the administration was caught napping and major breaches occurred as a result. There is no fixing of responsibility or accountability in the current system. We have enough top-heavy departments, funds, ministers, et cetera — does anyone carry out the pre-monsoon drill? Does any Financial Commissioner go for an inspection? There are several of them in Punjab today, as against only one in 1971. This was an example of an earlier time when the administration had to contend only with the regular vagaries of nature, not the impending doom of climate change. The same negligence and its results are visible in almost all states of India. It is an annual failure and lack of implementation of well-codified standing orders in all spheres of public amenities.

A cursory look at the headlines from across the world today will throw up alarming news of extreme climate conditions and their aftermath. Parts of Europe and North America are reeling under a relentless heatwave, with forest fires compounding the situation — New York’s orange skies would have brought tears to the eyes of any visiting Delhiite. South Asia is witnessing a disrupted monsoon. Meagre rain in June and a deluge in July are leading to beleaguered farmers, damaged crops and high inflation in food — tomatoes, broccoli, capsicum and ginger are where all the action is. To put it in perspective, McDonald’s stopped serving tomatoes — now what is a Big Mac without tomato? Strangely, all this was predicted by wise men in various journals and newspapers but, we ‘homo sapiens’ carry on (or should one say ‘burn on’) with our routine lives. To quote famous scientist James Lovelock (from his ‘Nuclear Energy for the 21st Century’ speech at the International Conference in Paris in 2005): “We have to stop thinking of human needs and rights alone. Let us be brave and see that the real threat comes from the living earth, which we have harmed and is now at war with us.”

The existential crisis that was supposed to overtake our planet and its millions of species after 75 to 100 years appears to be far closer today. Countries and their people have been caught unawares and unprepared because nobody believed it would happen in our lifetime. We carried on merely bequeathing disaster to the coming generations. There was no dearth of studies on climate change, no dearth of conferences at the UN and other forums. Individuals like former US Vice-President Al Gore extensively toured and lectured all over the world, predicting the coming cataclysmic changes in climate, but nobody listened. I’m reminded of Walter De La Mere’s poem The Listeners in a different context:

‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.

But no one descended to the Traveller…

But only a host of phantom listeners

That dwelt in the lone house then

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight

To that voice from the world of men…

Perhaps an echo of the times to come — we ignore science at our own peril. Yet, we find the West embroiled in a battle with Russia. Once again, the greater good and science have taken the back seat in the face of petty political squabbles; fossil fuels are being used in even greater quantities as supply chains are disrupted and armies bomb each other to oblivion. Increasingly, nationalism is beginning to trump an open and global outlook. Short-term political, defence and economic considerations are far outweighing climate change, which to the global leadership appears as a distant mirage and yet, the planet only gets hotter. This is not to say that all is lost; the political and scientific movement on climate change is getting stronger and louder. Great steps have been taken by some nations towards sustainable power, EVs, forestation and reducing our carbon footprint. The larger debate now is on the pace of moving away from fossil fuels to a greener economy — this pace, however, will be dictated more by the planet than by us.

My fear and apprehensions are focused more at home. Though India’s historic contribution to carbon emission is said to be a mere 3.7 per cent (as per a recent article in Economic Times), given our size and population, we may be faced by the brunt of this change. Changes in the monsoon pattern along with weather conditions like El Nino will greatly affect our agriculture and food security. For a nation of 1.4 billion, where a large segment of the population has a low income and agriculture is primarily rainfed, the results could be catastrophic. Yet, our Parliament and Assemblies spend their energies on debating mythical cultural issues or remain dysfunctional, embroiled in contentious political tragedies. Seasonal floods have swept our lands in the North, the monsoon was delayed and then it came with a vengeance, resulting in large-scale disasters. Lives were lost, infrastructure and property destroyed and the government was found wanting everywhere. The question is: as a nation, as states both individually and collectively, will we come together to fight the battle of our lifetime to ensure that for our children, and those who come later, we leave a planet and a home better, or at least as beautiful, as we found it?