Heat wave across Jammu
As climate change becomes a lived experience, taking it far beyond academic borders, we are witnessing extreme weather patterns. The larger, and more complex, discourse over climate change notwithstanding, the fluctuations in the routing patterns of weather are giving tough time to the people. It is not only across continents, or way away from our lands; it is actually right here, in our midst. J&K, and if Ladakh is also included, was a curious territorial expanse where different weather and climate samples existed. If the temperatures would go as up as close to 50 in Jammu regions, it would dip almost equally below zero in Ladakh region. Between the two would sit a lush green valley that tasted both, but in moderation. Here, in winters the temperature, occasionally, would go down to minus 10, even below, and in summers it would hover around that sweet zone of thirty.
But now, things are changing. One day we have over thirty degrees in the month April, and then you have snowfall as late as May end. A sunny day ends up with gusty winds, blowing away the rooftops and uprooting trees.
In Jammu we have now a heat wave sweeping all across. Though this is routinely a time for very hot days in the region, but climate change is showing its impact in adding a degree or two. In such a situation, the discussions on climate and the long time changes it entails in our policies are good, but first we need to make proper arrangements for the people.
The first thing that comes to mind in such circumstances is the availability of electricity. If Kashmir needs more supplies during winters, Jammu peaks in its demand during summers. It is time people of Jammu are given relief by ensuring that the power supply in uninterrupted. The government needs to do whatever it takes to ensure that in this heat people are not left to burn in this heat. It is also time to take a call on the official timings, for schools and other offices, so that work doesn’t get affected and people are not exposed to the dangers of a heat wave.
