Climatic warning

 Summer months from May to August are the hottest and also most humid. Timely and normal rains serve to lessen the humid heat as temperature swelters. The summer months are also the most dreadful because of long hours of load shedding which make the heat and humidity unbearable, especially in Dimapur. Elsewhere across the globe, as ice caps melt and wildfires rage, global warming is occurring faster than we could have imagined. In countries affected by climate change, many of the world’s prime travel destinations are at risk of suffering serious consequences: Rising sea levels and more dramatic weather events are endangering major cities, like Venice, with flooding. Increased temperatures are depleting resources that tourism industries depend on, with reduced snowfall in the Alps, and scant harvests in Northern California’s vineyards. Some natural wonders, like the Great Barrier Reef, are facing the prospect of vanishing entirely. The changing weather pattern is the most felt and it should be taken serious note of . Ignorance about changing weather and its direct influence on the climate has resulted in devastations across the world. There is a difference between “weather “ and “climate” as the former relates to conditions in the atmosphere over a short time. In the latter, it relates to how the atmosphere behaves over a longer period of time. Climate change generally means changes in long-term averages of daily levels of temperature and rainfall. In a warming world, people can expect it to get wetter. The distribution of the rainfall throughout the year could change as people experience longer, hotter spells, although when rain falls it may be in intense bursts. That being so, the issue of climate change is also a factor that is related with mindless destruction of forests and precipitation of the “green house gas effect” from various chemicals and fossil fuel emissions. The local destruction of the local environment has also added to the changes in climate. Almost all the green laws are in the process of being subverted or completely rewritten to make way for industry. Statutory bodies like the national board for wildlife and forest advisory committee have undergone severe dental surgery and are left with no teeth. In the environment vs. development debate, what is forgotten is that natural capital -forests, rivers, land- provide ecosystem services, without which humans as a species would not survive. Deforestation in Nagaland has unfortunately left an indelible mark with denuded hills and encroached reserved forests bearing mute testimony. Of course, on paper, old and new schemes and policies continue to be used the mainstay of a department which exists without forests. When a natural forest is felled; what is lost is the ecological system, including rare species of flora and fauna. What replaces it is a monoculture plantation of fast-growing species. Thus the policy of afforestation with fast growing and commercial species etc is unhelpful. Climate change is not only about discomfort or hazards or affect on tourism spots but mainly about impact on agriculture crops. The contributory factors for abnormal weather patterns are varied and many. It is therefore important to make citizens aware of their roles and once this is achieved, perhaps even choice of environmental friendly products would become a necessity. No government in the state should overlook the role of sustainable development while pursuing economic growth.