Even as Chennai is grappling to get back to normalcy and come to terms with the absolute devastation it underwent through the past week’s huge flooding, its ripples can be felt miles away at the Climate Change Summit in Paris too. The unnaturally high rains and the whopping intensity coupled with the tragic loss of life has not just left Indians in a state of shock but diplomats and officials from 190 countries across the world too are a worried lot given the terrible devastation brought forth by the rains and the flooding.
Chennai has already received double the amount of rains it receives in entire December and this is no coincidence. It is a stark reminder that the perils of climate change are slowly but surely unravelling and it is only a matter of time before it wreaks havoc in our neighbourhood.
As the French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, the chair of the global negotiations, said at the Climate change meet in Le Bourget, “The unprecedented magnitude of the flooding confirms yet again that we no longer have time, we must take concrete and urgent action against climate disruption.” Though many experts agree that individual weather events cannot be always linked to the overall Climate Change concept, it has to be accepted that such extreme weather conditions cannot be solely seen in isolation as well. Rising global temperature, increasing instances of El Nino impact across India, the devastating instances of flooding in recent pasts like the one in Uttarakhand, Kashmir or the Chennai one surely forces one to probe deeper and look for the root cause for such freak weather conditions.
Germanwatch, a Climate Change Thinktank says India is on the list of 10 countries which are bearing the maximum brunt of rising temperatures globally as per their Global Climate Risk Index 2016. It needs to be remembered that acting promptly about tackling Climate change is not just about ensuring a better environment. it also has a deep economic implication as well. In 2014 alone, India witnesses a loss of 0.5% of GDP due to these extreme weather related loss of lives and property.
Therefore as the Climate Change Meet in Paris comes to a close, the need of the hour is quick, constructive and collaborative action to tackle Climate Change.
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