Hira Bahadur Thapa

Climate science has established a strong link between human-induced carbon emissions and rising temperatures. This month’s brutal winter storm in the South Central region of the United States, particularly Texas, has glaringly demonstrated how vulnerable we are to climate catastrophe. We can hardly ignore our own accountabilities to this consequence. Humans are responsible for the deterioration of the environment by consuming fossil fuels. Countries around the world are emitting greenhouse gases so much that unless we cut down them drastically, our chances to keep global warming to somewhat manageable levels will quickly slip away. The climate scientists’ extensive research on the subject has made it obvious.
The Texans are struggling to survive freezing temperatures without electricity, food and water, which resulted from the global warming that brought the cold storms in the state, which paradoxically is a leading energy producer of oil and gas in the US. The scientists have warned that an overall rise in extreme weather is likely to create sweeping new risks to human lives. Around 58 people lost their life due to massive winter storm: a scenario not seen in Texas in the last 30 years. In Texas, snowfall is news from elsewhere and is a rarity. Here people rely on electric heaters. They are not prepared for such cold weather due to severity of which water pipes have burst causing water crisis in the state.

Urgency
The COVID-19 pandemic has forcefully heightened the urgency of addressing the climate change crisis, which is reflected in the surge in global temperatures with attendant catastrophes. But there is a significant difference between these two crises: pandemic and global warming albeit both cause immense harm to humankind. The pandemic after some time reaches its peak and slows itself, say for example the stage of herd immunity, when 70-90 per cent of the population in the community achieve immunity. In global warming, there is no such thing like reaching the peak and then halting to damage the environment unless its buffers are preserved to lessen the impact of environmental degradation.
Forestation and the curtailment of carbon emissions are two principal factors through which global warming can be addressed. Worryingly, we have lagged behind in embracing these two vital measures that could make a difference in stemming the global warming, the root cause for creating erratic weather conditions. Those who deny climate science declare that there is no climate change whenever the weather turns cold. But weather remains variable and cold weather in winter still happens, even if the overall warming trend means that winters are getting milder. This is why global warming is dubbed as counter-intuitive.
The effects of a warming world have something to do with these sudden bursts of Arctic cold, as seen in Texas. The cold air at the top of the world, the Polar vortex, is usually held in place by circulating jet stream. The Northern Hemisphere’s warming appears to be weakening the jet stream and when sudden blasts of heat in the stratosphere punch into the vortex, that Arctic air can spill into the middle latitudes. A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, so when we do get storm, we can expect to see heavier rain and snow. There is also fascinating research that links a warming Arctic to increased frequency of the broad range of the extreme winter weather in parts of the US.
As climate change brings more frequent intense storms, floods, heat waves, wildfires and other extreme events, it is placing a growing stress on the foundations of country’s economy. Burdens of climate change are unevenly placed on countries. The poorer the countries, the harsher are the consequences. As poor countries lack resources and technology to mitigate the impact of climate change, they bear the brunt of the problem.
The concept of climate inequality is gaining traction considering the events of recent years when studies reveal that most people at greater risk from climate change live in low-and mid-income regions. “Our World in 20 Years”, a 2019 study found that climate change has already deepened the global inequality gap by around 25 per cent. In densely populated lower-income countries close to the Equator, with weak economies and inadequate infrastructure, climate risks could lead to food shortages, mass migrations, and other social challenges.
Nepal is the fourth most vulnerable country in terms of climate change catastrophe. Hundreds of glacial lakes stretched between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Himalayas from the east to the west are at risk of bursting due to global warming. The Chho Rolpa glacial lake, the biggest one in the country, is a great threat to the downstream areas. The most recent bursting of such lake in Uttarakhand of India is a stark reminder of the fact that global warming is posing an immediate security threat to the region. There are numerous other lakes, which may burst anytime if the present trend of rising temperature is not checked through lowering the carbon emission level.

Global weirding
In the words of Professor Katherine Hayhoe, a climate scientist associated with Texas Tech University, global warming is global weirding because the weather gets weird as average global temperatures rise, ice melts and the jet stream shifts. The hot gets hotter and the cold gets colder. Global warming has disrupted our lives and is likely to do more harm to the planet if we fail to understand its urgency and start implementing measures that slash carbon emissions drastically. We must get serious about it before our sustainability is completely wiped out.

(Thapa was a foreign relations adviser to the Prime Minister from 2008-09.thapahira17@gmail.com)