Climate change — we have been hearing this term for a long time. From NCERT textbooks to the media of present times, but because of its continued appearance, people have got used to it. They don’t consider it of much concern as it doesn’t show immediate effects and they put its weight on people other than themselves.
However, the opposite should be done. We must take care of it now rather than later because it will be too late when chickens come home to roost.
The rise in temperature, melting glaciers, natural calamities, heatwaves, air pollution and extreme weather are just its effects, but its consequences are more drastic. It is a threat to human health and life. It is affecting everyone globally and in the future, will become even worse.
The World Economic Forum released the Global Risk Report 2022 in which climate change and extreme weather are the top concerning issues of 2022 rather than infectious diseases.
The opinion of the masses may differ on it because an infectious disease (COVID) keeps coming back and doesn’t seem to go away. Along with COVID cases, the death toll is also rising, which needs to be controlled. Therefore it needs our attention.
COVID is no different to the impact of climate change. The persistent appearance of COVID could be because of changes in the environment. It makes viruses more resilient or prone to mutation and weakens our natural defence systems owing to our lifestyles and perverted interaction with nature, making us susceptible to infections.
Not just COVID, but it also lengthens the transmission season and expands the geographical distribution of vector-borne and mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue and zika virus that have been on the rise. According to researchers, climate change is also causing premature births and weight gain among kids.
Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress.
Therefore, global treaties, seminars and reports like the highlighted COP26 held in Glasgow to determine the necessary steps towards preventing climate change need to show results on the ground level, rather than being a ceremony for formalities. More importantly, the mindset of the masses needs to align with the cause, along with a sense of responsibility.
There is an urgent need to work upon it, to be aware and make people aware of the disaster climate change is causing on the environment, ecosystem, biodiversity, animals, and most importantly to humans.
The major concern here is that unlike diseases and geopolitical conflicts, there can be no immediate stop-gag, like a vaccine or peace treaty, for the irreversible damage to the environment and human life.