NORTH India and with it, Jammu and Kashmir have been witnessing unusually high temperatures over the last week. Seven states, including Punjab, have reached maximum temperature levels typical of mid-March. According to the IMD, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of Jammu have witnessed temperatures 6 to 11 degrees higher than normal. Weather in Srinagar over the latter part of February has also been like March with many people complaining that they couldn’t sleep through the night due to unbearable warmth. And this is a serious development as the rise in temperature could lead to early melting of snow in high altitudes. The onset of early warmth could thus potentially disrupt our agriculture as it will elsewhere in the country and the world.
One can only hope that this year doesn’t become a repeat of last year. In 2022, Kashmir had a surprisingly warm March and April, the two months which otherwise used to be drenched in rain and the consequent cold. India and Pakistan suffered extreme spring heatwaves. The unprecedented April temperatures led to critical water and electricity shortages. North-west and central India experienced the hottest April in 122 years and in Pakistan’s Jacobabad, a city in Sindh province, the temperature hit recently, one of the highest April temperatures ever recorded in the world.
Last year also, Europe, for example, faced its worst drought in 500 years with two-thirds of the continent under some sort of drought warning. Some of its biggest rivers were reduced to shallow streams, hitting power generation. A report from the Global Drought Observatory said 47 percent of the continent was in “warning” conditions. Similarly, another 17 percent was on alert which meant that the vegetation was showing signs of stress. England officially declared drought in several regions.
The unusual rise in temperature across the globe has already caused deep concern about the creeping climate change, which is changing the nature of the seasons. Though this should cause alarm, it isn’t. Or at least to the extent where it could matter. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh between them are home to around 1.7 billion people and any disruption in the climate pattern could severely impact them. So, the three countries, as well as other countries in the region need to wake up and work toward a global response to the looming catastrophe. But the factors causing climate change are global in nature and so any effort to reverse the damage has to be backed by the world. And this should be done sooner than later. The time is running out fast.
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