We’re the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.
According to the scientists- “This is only the beginning of the world’s climate crisis. If nothing is done soon, the catastrophic tipping point would appear.”
It has been said that we have very little time to revert the damage that human activities have done to this planet. Now be it killing of animals or polluting the biosphere. These cataclysmic climatic changes are nothing but the result of mistreating nature.
Californian wildfires (Oct 2019)
A bushfire spread across Simi Valley, California around 1800 acres leading to the evacuations of the people living in that area.
The Los Angeles fire department blamed a Northeast wind that directed the firestorm towards the west.
The damage was reported of approximately five hundred thousand dollars due to this fire. And it not only affected the economy but brought a drastic change in air quality. And this was just the beginning of nature turning rogue because it did not stop there just like our damage towards this globe.
Amazon rainforest (Aug 2019)
Known as Earth’s lungs experienced a huge forest fire that led to the burning of 2,240,000 acres. This is a considerably disheartening situation as this rainforest provides 20% of the world’s oxygen.
According to the National Institute for Space Research of Brazil: More than 73,000 forest fires took place in Brazil through August 2019 and more than half of these were in the Amazon rainforest. This has increased up to 80% when compared with 2018. We lost half the battle against climate change when Amazon was on fire. It sprang up a lot of hazardous conditions in the climate. It would take a lot of effort to make up for the damage that this fire brought along with it.
Catastrophic flooding (March to July 2019)
The Midwestern United States and Mississippi River Valley went through extreme flooding because of the continuous storms and melting of snow. This disastrous calamity led to the highest water levels in 157 years.
The most important topsoil eroded, hundreds of farmers drowned, fields converted into lakes, drenched the grain storages resulting in billions and billions of dollars of damage.
This was not a result of any single event but a line of floods that took place in the tributary basin regularly.
Excess of anything is bad, now be it excess drought or excess water if it is in extreme it would bring damage, just like high temperatures causing in the destruction of mankind land. Here our karma is coming back to us. It is like mother nature is making us pay for the damage that we have done to her.
Greenland (2019)
World’s largest island located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans is the second largest ice body in the world which covers 1,710,000 square kilometers of ice. Activities related to ice in this area impacts the entire planet. Now Greenland is called an ice cube with a hairdryer on it.
Parts of ice sheet here melts and refreezes often. Due to high temperature, the ocean water warms up and thus the glaciers melt.
NASA also ran a project named OMG (Ocean Melting Greenland) to figure out the reason for ice melting and how quickly it takes place. It was noticed that the warm air melts the top of the glaciers.
Scientists and environmentalists have done enough studies, but now it’s time to act on them. It is the highest time to take necessary action in order to prevent this planet to enter the paradox of destruction
Australian bush fires (Dec 2019) (Mallacoota)
Three forest fires combined overnight forming a blaze that is equal to the size of Manhattan.
These started after a record-breaking heatwave and led to the burning of around 10.7 million hectares, the killing of more than 28 people and an endless number of animals who have their natural habitat in those forests like kangaroos and koalas.
November ended with more than 100 fires in New South Wales due to the strong winds, very low humidity, and high temperature. A whole lot of people in Sydney have been diagnosed with asthma because of the unbearable smoke flowing all over the city.
The damage expense would be around 110 billion dollars.
Australian bushfire started the year 2020 on a very heartbreaking and disappointing note. When humans were busy celebrating, there were billions of animals smothering in the smoke. We, humans, are to be blamed here and poor animals are also paying for our deeds.
Furthermore, Atlanta hitting 90 degrees 91st time in 2019 is another afflictive scenario.
Saving energy, electricity, and water, reducing, reusing and recycling (3 R’s of sustainability) as much as possible, consuming low carbon, plantations etc. are some of the steps that can be taken by each citizen to give their contribution in saving the planet.
And not just by giving their contribution one must also take responsibility for their deeds quite seriously. It is the biggest concern right now because it serves absolutely no point in talking about the economic slowdown and global issues if the race of every living being on this earth is at stake.
