How do we feel the effects of climate change in our everyday lives? It could be in the form of the intense heat wave that swept through Delhi in the summer. On 29 May, the daytime temperature read 52.3 degrees Celsius on one of the city's temperature stations, before the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the sensor had malfunctioned.
Or it may be the way that scientist Minal Pathak watched on in horror as eastern Spain was swamped by a deadly flood in late October. It may also be the way that economist Ulka Kelkar was shocked to see her garden dying one day at a time, as Bengaluru endured months of drought at the beginning of the year.
"I used to joke that I live in the safest city because it is cool, it doesn't get hot. There are no rivers, so nothing will flood. There are no earthquakes unlike in north India or Delhi. And there are no cyclones because it's inland," says Kelkar, who is the executive programme director of Climate, Economics and Finance at World Resources Institute (WRI) India. "Then rains just didn't come for months at a time, and I remember being actually scared."
The ways climate change impacts the lives of people can be very different, but in 2024—a fateful year in the climate crisis—these impacts were everywhere, from polling agents dying of heatstroke during the Lok Sabha elections to hundreds of people killed in landslides in Kerala's Wayanad during the monsoon. And that's just in India.
If there was a theme for 2024, it was that climate disasters became a commonplace, like the dawn of a new era of instability.
For Pathak, a faculty member at Ahmedabad University's Global Centre for Environment and Energy, it would seem that we have normalised this instability.
Denne historien er fra December 24, 2024-utgaven av Mint Ahmedabad.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 24, 2024-utgaven av Mint Ahmedabad.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Perks of Reflection and Daily Me-Time
Introspection helps one think more clearly, says Spinny CEO Niraj Singh
It's your touch that will push an AI co-worker to do better
AI agents help break down silos and improve decision-making and collaboration, but it's people who can leverage their benefits
Hiring Is Just The First Step Towards Inclusion
Persons with disabilities and those from marginalized groups need mentors and a supportive environment to grow in their careers
Budget: It must aim to engineer India's economic transformation
The target of Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires the budget to balance immediate challenges with long-term development goals
The Digital Data Protection rules have hits and misses
Some provisions can set a global example for age-gating but others would overburden data fiduciaries
The 'Asian Aunty' Is Smashing Ageist and Gender Stereotypes
'Aunty' leaders are tackling a widely normalized form of 'othering'
Public debt: Do not let it eclipse the fiscal deficit
The Centre's plan to adopt debt as its new focus for budget prudence after 2025-26 does hold merit but we must not lose track of the fiscal gap. It'll remain a valuable economic indicator
Longevity Is Usually A Reward For Being Unspectacular
Careers That Endure Are Typically Not Spectacular. This Is So In Politics As Well As Other Fields
Get public-private partnerships right for target-oriented growth
The UK's new government should engage the private sector with deals that achieve public objectives
How to Use Home Loan Interest as Acquisition Cost
With reasonable housing loan interest rates, many taxpayers use loans for residential property purchases.
