Imlisanen Jamir
With rising global temperatures, brace for a not so chilly winter this season, if the met department is to be believed.
Winter is likely to be warmer than average, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting average minimum temperatures to be “warmer than average” over most of India.
The December-January-February season will be hotter, except over “northern-most parts”. Minimum temperatures over most parts of central and peninsular India are likely to be warmer than normal by 1 degree Celsius.
Overall, winter temperatures have been on the rise. The IMD started issuing winter forecasts in 2016 and, except for 2017, had forecast warm winters for all years since then. Warm winters, experts say, are a sign of global warming. India on an average is 0.5 degree Celsius warmer than 50 years ago. Rising temperatures lead to warmer than average ground temperatures and consequently a rise in minimum temperatures.
Overall global temperatures are on the rise, with several studies indicating an increase by 1 degree Celsius over pre-industrial levels. At current projections, the global temperature is expected to rise 3.2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and intensify severe weather events.
Everyone keeps pretending that fighting climate change is like a household chore that no one really wants to do, like cleaning the garage.
We keep putting it off, saying we'll cut carbon emissions next year or next decade. Maybe we'll make a start, clearing some space around the edges with nods to renewable energy and electric cars or make some promises.
But in the end, we're still looking at adding more gases to an atmosphere that's packed with carbon, a world that's warming and no real plan to do the work to change anything.
A report by the UN Environment Program, published on November 26, showed the amount of planet-heating gases being pumped into the atmosphere hitting a new high last year, despite a near-global pledge to reduce them, according to The Associated Press.
It's time to stop procrastinating. All communities must agree to make the changes that are necessary to slow the emissions and reverse the damage. It's past time to clean out that garage.
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