Many instances in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Arctic Circle have demonstrated the ferocity of Nature in earnest, much of which has been attributed to human-induced climate change
By Salam Rajesh
The Christmas Bells on Wednesday (25th December) would be chiming merrily across the seven continents with the wishful hope for happy, trouble-free times for all in the New Year, and beyond. Wars and embattled ethnic strife apart in many pockets of the globe presently, it is the reality of threat from the drastically changing climatic processes that is going to be the proverbial ‘thorn in the flesh’ in this wish for a peaceful, harmonious life for all in this decade, and thereafter.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s State of the Climate 2024 report forewarned the world community that the average global temperature for the first nine months of 2024 exceeded the pre-industrial level by 1.54 degrees Celsius, temporarily surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal set in the Paris Agreement.
In 2024 and in the recent past, we have seen many instances of extreme weather events that caused massive loss and damage to human and wildlife populations. Global warming, climate change, and extreme weather events together stream-rolled to impact tremendously on all forms of life on this planet, and not sparing the non-living beings, too.
Many instances in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Arctic Circle have demonstrated the ferocity of Nature in earnest, much of which has been attributed to human-induced climate change. In Asia, for example, an unprecedented downpour of 645mm of rain in a single day on the 31st July caused massive flooding in China’s Yongxing County, damaging large-scale properties and killing seven people.
Extreme heavy rains on the 25th July flooded 13 towns in southern Myanmar’s Mon, Kayin, Ayeyerwady and Bago regions. Earlier on the 20th July, 40 houses were damaged and 30 people went missing in China’s Xinhua village, under Sichuan Province, when heavy rains caused massive floods.
The same week, neighbouring Taiwan was hit by the powerful Typhoon Gaemi at 144km per hour speed, causing extensive damages to the standing properties and displacing scores of families from their homes.
The Iranian Government issued closure of all establishments on 28th July in the face of an unprecedented heat wave that hit the Islamist country, with the mercury crossing over 40 degrees Celsius. In India, that same day Srinagar recorded its hottest day at 35.7 degrees Celsius, breaking its own record of hottest day in Kashmir during July of 1999.
Across the sea in western America, California’s Riverside County was hit by extreme heat on 23rd July that blew up a wildfire (nicknamed the Hawarden Fire) which spread uncontrollably across a vast area of 527 acres, engulfing homes, burning cars and other standing properties, and displacing scores of families, in its wake.
Lahore in Pakistan broke a 44-year-old record for maximum rainfall in a single day, at 337mm on the 2nd of August, causing extensive flooding. That same month, Wayanad in Kerala hit the headlines for a massive landslide that affected 80,000sq m area of land, and killing 291 people while 200 went missing.
In August, a cloudburst hit Himachal Pradesh, triggering massive landslides and flash floods impacting Shimla, Kullu and Mandi areas. 49 people went missing and four lost their lives in nature’s fury.
Unprecedented heavy rains wreaked havoc in Viet Nam’s northern region in August, triggering massive landslides and laying to waste 82 houses with six lives lost. North Korea was not spared either. Heavy rains took a toll of 1500 casualties, and around 3000ha area of land were severely affected. In China’s Sichuan Province the same month, mudslide and flash floods from heavy rains killed two persons while 12 went missing.
Rains apart, extreme heat wave hit South Korea in early August. 1690 people were hospitalized with heat-related illness while fourteen succumbed under a blistering heat at around 40 degrees Celsius. In western United States, in August end a staggering 60 million people were reported suffering from heat-related illnesses while 1220 people lost their lives.
In Africa, Sudan felt victim to extreme heavy rains in early August that induced massive floods, damaging around 5575 houses, and rendering injury to 107 people while 32 persons lost their lives. Similarly, 9 people lost their lives while 250 families were displaced by landslides in Thailand’s Phuket Island, induced by heavy downpour. And in Bangladesh, massive floods on the 23rd of the month displaced around 4 million people in 11 districts in the country, while 13 lost their lives.
In India’s North East, the Government of Mizoram ordered closure of schools for 4 days, commencing 29th August, due to heavy rains that induced landslides. 42 people lost their lives in that calamity. Elsewhere in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijaywada, around 4.50 lakh people were affected by extreme floods on 3rd September. That same day, in the Philippines, 14 people were killed in thunderstorm with a howling wind speed of 85km per hour.
On 13 September, Viet Nam was hit by super-Typhoon Yagi, recorded as the strongest typhoon in the country during the last ten years, at wind speed of 149km per hour. 226 people were killed, 800 were injured and 104 went missing. That same day, Myanmar’s Mandalay region experienced heavy floods from the impact of super-typhoon Yagi. 17 people lost their lives in that calamity.
The same week saw Pakistan drenched by heavy rains inducing massive floods, where UNICEF reported around 230,000 children out of school due to the floods. A high number of 1300 schools were flooded, with 228 fully damaged according to UNICEF. 76 people lost their lives, while in Sindh Province another 450 schools were impacted by the floods.
It is not only floods that caused the maximum damages. A massive forest fire in Peru, induced by extreme heat, on 22nd September impacted around 2000ha of land while 18 people lost their lives in the wildfire. And in early October, Brazil in Latin America was hit by an extended drought of 164 days, breaking its own record of 163 days of extended drought in 1963, with scorching heat at 35 degrees Celsius.
The list of incidences is unending. On 13th November, California’s Ventura County was hit by extensive wildfires that scorched a massive area of around 20,630 acres. 200 houses were destroyed and 6 people were injured in the wildfires. The same month, on the 18th, Super Typhoon Mon-Yi struck Philippines with a wind speed of 195km per hour, destroying almost everything in its path in metro Manila, central Luzon Island, and in several other areas.
The list goes on and on, leaving a trail of misery, sorrow and desperation amidst the huge count of loss and damage suffered. Nature’s fury only serves to remind humans that when nature is truly angry, nothing can stand in its path of destruction.
The lessons learnt serve to forewarn the world community that unless nations live up to the Paris Climate Agreement and other such principles of agreement, and commitments, to work collectively in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, at the baseline of the pre-industrial level, the world is going to suffer extensively in the coming years. This simply does not resound with the merry chimes of the Christmas bells, and Santa Claus’ ever smiling face.