“Send not to know for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee.”
In the Meditations XVII, the famous English Poet John Donne wrote that ‘No Man is an Island – Each is a piece of the continent.’ What he meant was that everything in life is connected, and calamity does not descend upon just a single individual – it descends upon all.
This is certainly the case with climate change because climate change, unlike war or other political conflict, is not region-specific- it impacts everyone living on the planet. It does not acknowledge national borders, social divisions, race, or caste. It does not discriminate between class, gender, religion, or ideologies. Whatever catastrophe it has planned, it will unleash upon all.
Our climate has been changing for billions of years. It is a part of the natural cycle, and in the few billion years of our planet’s life, the climate has undergone drastic changes. Earth has witnessed both ice ages and greenhouse periods, and many varieties of lifeforms and species have been completely wiped off because of these changes. Since the change in climate is natural, it can be argued that climate change is not a real concern, but that is not so. In our times, climate change is a real problem because it is happening at an unprecedented rate. The change which should have happened in thousands of years is now happening in centuries. If the situation continues to spiral like this, the rate of change will be so alarmingly high that by the end of the century, everyone on the planet will be facing a global climate crisis.
One of the primary consequences of climate change is an increase in global temperature. Earth, as a planet, has developed its natural ecosystem, and all life forms have adapted to the same, evolving out of the systems that Earth has designed for them. Unfortunately, climate change is rapidly interfering with the system, disrupting the ecological rhythm and putting everything at risk.
If the temperatures continue to rise, it will result in the creation of a much hotter climate than life on our planet is used to. It will disrupt the rhythm between mountains, wind, ocean, and land, giving birth to heatwaves, ferocious storms, excessive rainfalls, droughts, and flooding. Hotter climates will also trigger successive wildfires, putting a region’s entire flora and fauna at risk of extinction. It will change the migration patterns of birds and force marine life away from hotter regions or risk eventual extinction.
The impact of climate change on human life will also be severe. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfalls and droughts will affect the crops negatively and force the farmers to change their agricultural patterns. Thus, it will immediately disrupt the food industry, putting the whole world at risk. Relentless heat waves will also result in higher frequencies of heat strokes especially for that part of the population who are exposed and more vulnerable to harsher climate. Finally, rising seawater, sinking lands, hurricanes, and unpredictable storms will force a large mass of the population to embark on migration and abandon the security of their homelands. In short, climate change will put the entire humanity near the threat of worldwide calamity.
The global pandemic of COVID-19 was a worldwide calamity, but at least it did one good thing – it gave us a glimpse of what a global disaster can look like. The peak period of the pandemic brought even global powers down to their knees who, suffered economic damages, loss of lifestyle, and countrywide agitation arising because of the pandemic. The loss to human life, grief, and the fear arising from the pandemic became so prominent that nothing need be said about the same – everyone experienced it globally.
If no measures are taken to mitigate the change of climate, then by the end of the century, humanity will be facing a disaster which will be even worse than that of COVID-19. It can be a prelude to a complete global meltdown, forcing all of humanity to even face the threat of extinction. In order to prevent the same, the whole of humanity must come together to combat climate change not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the only thing left to do. There is no alternative – we must work to solve climate change.
