Why is India Most Vulnerable to The Climate Change fallouts?
How does our lifestyle choices, dietary habits and community behaviour determine the Climate?
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, a jewel stud in the Konkan, an epitome of refinement and grandeur is a testimony to how a coastal city in a developing country, once possession and envy of the British and Portuguese imperialism, and gradually draped by a cosmopolitan culture, can be a home to millions of immigrant dreams. The spirit of Mumbai has a profound impression, everywhere, from the bustling life of a ‘Mumbaikar’ to the cult Bollywood movies. However, it is an absolute pity to observe the possibility that parts of this jewel and other prominent coastal Indian cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Surat, and so forth would be submerged by 2050 if the sea levels continue to rise unabated due to Climate Change.
A relatively neoteric term ‘Climate Change’, is characterized by the rise in global concentrations of GHGs (Greenhouse Gases), desertification, warming of the planet, unprecedented melting of glaciers, continuous sea-level rise and so forth. It was majorly triggered by the human actions of the 19th-century nation-states in the pursuit of industrialization but is affecting the whole of the planet today. Unfortunately, compared to the other nations, India is one of the most vulnerable countries, in complex and manifold ways, which might lead to a crisis beyond one’s wildest dreams and imagination. To get a more clear picture, it would be gripping to take a glance at the impending risks through the lens of population growth and our collective responsible behavior, as Indians.
As per the World Population Prospects 2019 released by the Population Division, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, India is all geared up to be the most populous country in the world by 2027, surpassing China and adding 273 million more of us, to ourselves.
- First, India is an agricultural economy, with more than 61% of the population dependent on agriculture and allied activities. An abnormal change in the monsoon pattern, a shift in the season change cycles, a critical decline in groundwater level, a reduction in available farmland, and loss of pollinators, induced by the Climate Change is already putting an impact on the food production and the traditional Indian agricultural supply chain management. It is not hard, perhaps to imagine the disastrous food security consequences with an increase in population, especially when 20 Crore Indians were undernourished as of 2019, mostly under the age of 5. The Indian Agriculture, characterized by low technological levels, low literacy level, and an infamous procurement and storage system of buffer stocks is yet to adapt to Climate resilient technologies, norms, and strains.
- Second, India has a Tropical climate, which makes her more vulnerable to the NTDs (Neglected Tropical Diseases) and vector-borne diseases such as Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya. The intermittent rise in floods and rains due to Climate Change is likely to exacerbate the Indian healthcare response to the mosquito-borne diseases, which is already reeling under pressure on various fronts, including a critical shortage of health workers and a sharp rural-urban disparity in terms of medical infrastructure and healthcare awareness, especially among the socially vulnerable groups, including the 25 Crore forest dwellers and tribals in India.
It would be disconcerting to know that the 20 WHO listed NTDs affect 1 Billion people worldwide, mainly in the poor and developing Asian, African and a few Latin countries, but receives a meagre 0.37% of Pharmaceutical R&D funds, mostly because the innovators are motivated and rewarded through the earnings derived out of sales and NTDs seldom affect the citizens of the developed and temperate climatic zones. TB and Malaria, collectively responsible for 1.7 lakh deaths every year receives 0.12%.
- Third, the natural disasters and weather events influenced by Climate Change have become more unpredictable, often delayed but extreme. Just in the last three years, the obliterating floods of Kerala, Bihar and Northeastern states in and around the Brahmaputra valley; the intense dust storms and heatwaves in North India, droughts in parts of Deccan and the Southwest, urban floods in Gurgaon and Mumbai, the violent cyclones Amphan, Bulbul, Fani, Nisarga and so on, which ravaged both the coasts of India and so forth have collectively led to the internal displacement of more than 50 lakh Indians, the highest in the world apart from the countless deaths and property damage to the tune of Billions.
The recent Amphan cyclone damaged 28% of the largest mangrove forests of the world, the Sundarbans in India. Even more terrifying is, its just a few feet above the sea level and as per WWF (World Wildlife Fund), an 11 inch rise could decimate the population of Royal Bengal Tiger, our national animal, by 96% within a few decades.
- Fourth, with the rise of the population would come the need for greater ‘Urbanisation’ and bridging the ‘Rural-Urban Divide’. Let’s keep the provisioning of resources to feed and sustain the additional population, along with affordable and accessible clean air and drinking water, and a disaster resilient structure to reside as a story for another day. For now, ‘Urban Heat Island’ is another comparatively new climatic phenomenon in India, wherein an urban area gets relatively hotter than the surrounding rural areas because the heat is ‘trapped’ within the urban limits. Consequently, the general discomfort, heat cramps, exhaustion, along with other adverse factors, such as humidity, indoor pollution, ventilation facilities, and so on is a major cause of loss of productivity, across all sectors. Often, the homeless, construction workers, and footloose workers working in open areas are the first to get victimized.
- Fifth, our indiscriminate appetite for luxury and extravagance has a decisive role to play in determining the Climate scenes. How often we check for the tag of ‘Paraben’ or ‘Sulphate’ Free or ‘Plastic Free’ or ‘Not Tested on Animals’ et cetera is now, no more just a vindication of our fine cosmetic taste but of responsibility as well. Paraben, often used in cosmetics, is not only toxic to human skin, endocrine, and reproductive system as well as female mammary glands but ensues far-reaching damages on a bunch of marine creatures, including Dolphins and Corals. Similar notes can be assumed for other toxins like Plastics, DDT, BPA and so on which ultimately makes a way to our food chain, majorly through seafood and water sources.
This aspect is especially relevant because India, along with being dependent on Seafood and fishes, is striving to be a top global seafood exporter, after having produced fishes worth 13.3 Million tonne in 2018- 2019 and having consumed Seafood and Fish worth 1.4 Trillion rupees in 2016.
An estimated 5.2 Trillion pieces of Plastic waste, amounting to 8 Million Tonne, is in our oceans. Plastics are not biodegradable, but degenerates to Microplastics and Microfibers under the impact of heat and sunlight, consumed by Marine animals, which in turn enters our food cycle, along with other toxins. The plastics are also infamous for reducing the overall productivity of Oceans, and hence impacting the formation of carbon sinks, clouds, wind systems, ocean currents and so forth.
As this decade comes to a closure, its imperative for us to expand our sensibilities and sensitivities towards other mortals who share the fragile and common heritage of the earth. I started taking simple steps over the past few years, like below, in consonance with the awareness and association I forged with nature after changing a handful of cities, in different climatic zones and the experiencing the ineffable bliss of different shades of the environment and biodiversity. Meanwhile, as the years have passed, there were fond memories of a few things in my hometown which I can’t find anymore. The sight of a flock of birds, like the Indian House Sparrow, Green Parakeet, and Myna is a rarity now and the tree canopies along the roads of my small town have roads been broadened upon, often encroached upon by vegetable vendors and makeshift shops.
- Be mindful of our consumption and demands. Even simple steps such as following the circular economy principle of Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in our utilities and durables will help sustainably maintain its production and reduce pressure on natural resources, which otherwise are being depleted through mining, logging, groundwater exploitation, forest fires et cetera.
- Be watchful of our carbon footprints. Carpooling, switching off unnecessary appliances when not in use, buying locally produced unprocessed food, and so on, along with lowering our exposure to radiation and other pollutants will reduce pressure not only our health but for the medical system as well.
- Be aware of the reality told time and again, that we haven’t inherited the world from our forefathers but borrowed it from our children. It is our moral responsibility to leave behind earth they deserve, not despise. Blaming the Government and authorities is quite easy but courage is developing accountability for our actions and behavior we choose to demonstrate and live by. The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations, adopted by Governments across the world, including our own cannot be fulfilled despite various multilateral conventions and summits, if we fail to act, as a collective humanity.
- Be responsible for our waste management habits. Even the most naive act of not littering around in public, especially while traveling and disposing of the waste in the specific bins marked for the purpose should be a good starter. The Waste Management Policy, 2018 of the Indian Government is commendable, but can’t be effective without community participation and behavior change. Segregation of biodegradable, nonbiodegradable, e-waste, medical waste, and so on at the collection point itself is one of the things we can take care of, at our levels.
- Be cautious with our attitude towards Plastic, especially the single-use Polythene bags and other pollutants around us.
Even the smallest of deeds, done collectively to ensure the conservation of air and water bodies, securing the community health and caring for forest and food resources would be better than the noblest of intentions and go a long way in sustainably balancing our lifestyle and desires with the needs of flora and fauna around us. Amen!
We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it — Barack Obama
