Heat wave, any lessons?

Summers are nothing new to any region. We have places where temperature goes close to 50 degree celsius or even beyond. But here in Kashmir summers would mean a season of joy. Not just the arrival of tourists that made economy grow, but the very weather would bring lots of relief. Since we have harsh winter months, people would wait for summers so that life unfolded in all its wonderful ways. But now summers are not the same.

Without any expert chipping in and explaining the phenomenon of climate change one can feel the pinch of heat. It is really hot and we probably were not used to this temperature. A rise by a degree or two means a hell lot when we remember how, in terms of greenery and abundance of water bodies our valley would look like.

Gone are now the times when we had greenery all around. Any place in the valley, villages towns or the city, one would see trees filling the space. Anywhere, and water bodies would pass through, making our atmosphere cooler. Our houses would have no air conditioners, even fans would not be so common. On a sunny summer day one would only need to step into some shade – of a tree or a room inside – and it would feel cool.

Though it is not so hot and those living outside Kashmir, in hotter zones, can tell us what heat means, we still need to get concerned about how we have damaged our larger balances. Our ecosystem if damaged in ways beyond recognition. Our green cover is significantly reduced that before. Our waterbodies have been encroached upon and whatever is remaining are too polluted. Our traffic is now too much that leads to significant pollution. We have all the means that destroy our beautiful environment and result in devastating effects like climate change. So a hot summer day these days should cause us to reflect, and go into the causes of this change little deeper. If we don’t cease to damage our environment soon, its impact can be only imagined.