Great Weather. Really?
Beautiful Sunrise. Beautiful Weather.
I spent three days in the hill town of Bhowali, in the state of Uttarakhand (or Uttaranchal) in North India. The weather was beautiful. My wife, brother-in-law, and I spent three glorious days basking in the sun, doing nothing. The only fly in the proverbial ointment was that we had to return to Delhi's gloomy, polluted air a few days later.
Heaven was at hand.
The Only Fly?
Was the prospect of returning to Delhi’s polluted air the only fly in the ointment? No. I grew up in Nainital, 7 kilometres from Bhowali. I remember snowfall in November. If we didn’t get snow in November, it always came in December. Most years, snow was on the ground in March.
The beautiful weather we experienced should have been the weather of November, not December.
The locals I spoke with are worried. They mentioned ‘climate change,’ anxiety creating fine lines on their faces. The lack of snow equates with water shortages and problems with crops. Maybe their concerns are ‘base’ concerns, not ‘lofty’ ones. Politicians and business persons deal with weighty matters like global warming, “American (or other) lifestyle,” corporate profitability, the rule of law, human rights, democracy, and other assorted rubbish.
They meet for annual bashes like the COP, which produce nothing but bland promises.
Hot. Hot. Hot.
Yet, the year gone by is the hottest year on record. An article in Reuters confirms this fact. The New York Times confirms this record. The Guardian cries about this awful record.
“Leaders” of all stripes, shapes, genders, colours, ethnicities, castes and avocations gathered for the COP28 and cheered at the end. We had a bland promise to move away from fossil fuels but with no target date. Meanwhile, we are building coal plants: the government of my country, India, wants to strip forests in the state of Chhatisgarh and hand over the land to the controversial Mr Adani for mining.
Throughout my corporate career, my bosses measured me on my performance against my targets. If I missed them, I lost my bonus, the chance of a promotion and a good salary raise.
If we miss our climate targets, we all suffer. India is vulnerable, as are many similar countries. Ultimately, climate change will affect everyone, whether you live in the “Global North” or “Global South” or are a first world, second world or third world country.
Pious words are not enough. They are just words.
