The recent floods in Nepal have claimed dozens of lives, highlighting the dire consequences of climate change. This blog post delves into the heart of the crisis, exploring the factors behind the disaster and its far-reaching implications.
Monsoon Mayhem
Nepal has been drenched by heavy downpours in the past few days and, like neighbouring India, faces a severe monsoon every year from June to September. But this year’s monsoon has been especially savage, bringing downpours, floods and landslides that have killed at least 59 people and left 44 others missing.
The floods have affected huge areas, even flooding the capital Kathmandu, with residents seen struggling to wade through waist-deep water. Initially houses along the Bagmati River which runs inside the city have been flooded while waters from the river feed by tributaries to it continue to rise. According to survivors, the water was neck high in which of course can be quite a chilling scene for them that refused to erase away from their memories.
The Culprit: Climate Change
While the monsoon is a seasonal event, experts say this year’s was intensified by the continued impacts of climate change, which are exacerbating weather events around the world. Those temperatures will increase as the global atmosphere can hold even more moisture when it is warmer, which in turn leads to more significant and frequent rainfall.
And it is no longer a phenomenon restricted to the boarders of Nepal but a global situation reflecting in various corners of the world. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that, as the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events involving flooding and landslides are likely to become more frequent in the decades ahead.
These natural calamities may well give rise to other ramifications, not just within the short term loss of life and property, but even resulting in further social-economic consequences. Scores of travelers stranded as flooding severs transportation in Nepal, hampering rescue and relief efforts. Further, the destruction of residences and businesses will decimate a delicate economy in an region already strained to the brink.
Conclusion
The recent devastating floods in Nepal brought climate change to the front pages of international newspapers. As the world continues to heat up, extreme weather events are only going to get more frequent and intense; a very real danger for some of the most vulnerable communities on our planet. It is important to understand that not just the governments or policymakers but everyone from a citizen to everyone needs to come forward to cut down on the reasons for climate change, and proper disaster preparedness and response system at every level should be put in place. The only way we are going to get there is by working together — and that may be the first step to How Humanity Survives, Thrives and Lives in Harmony with our Planet Earth.
