Lot more needed to combat natural disasters

There are a series of weather emergencies spread across the world happening almost at the same time. There are hot spots across central South America, which have caused forest fires in the Amazon Valley that spread diagonally across the continent, from Colombia in the north-west of the continent to Uruguay in the south-east.

The largest number of fires in September so far had occurred in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. The fires are being attributed to the people setting fire in the rainforest, and the other reason is being said to be due to intense heat, a sign of climate change. Though this time of the year is winter in the southern hemisphere, the temperatures have been high, and the complaint by Karla Longo is “We never had winter. It’s absurd.”

Longo is researcher in air quality with Brazilian space agency Inpe, and located in Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo, the most thickly populated metropolis in the region, is the most affected by forest fire smoke. And there is a similar situation in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, which is at a higher and dry altitude. There were protest marches in La Paz, where people carried placards saying, “Bolivia in flames” and “For cleaner air stop burning”.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, central European countries like Czech, Slovakia and Austria are facing a flood situation with an increase in rainfall and the overflowing of rivers flowing across these countries. The governments are taking precaution measures by opening up sluice gates across dams and letting the water stores in reservoirs flow out. Central Europe has not faced a similar situation in decades.

Similarly, in Nigeria floods are forcing millions of people into relief camps, fleeing their villages. Meanwhile, Vietnam faced the brunt of cyclone Yagi, where 254 people have died and it has left millions of dollars’ worth farmland damaged.

It might seem that these weather emergencies, floods and heat waves are part of the changing seasons, and that the intensity of these events is occurring with a gap of decades. But climate scientists warn us that there is no room for complacency, and these are signs of the climate change crisis looming on the horizon. But there are no easy solutions to these weather catastrophes.

The frequency of these weather crises seems to be increasing, but there is as yet no clear predictable pattern. Over the recorded period of history natural disasters like floods and droughts, extreme summers and winters have alternated. It may be possible to predict them with improved meteorological data, but it seems that it would be impossible to stop cyclones, floods and forest fires from happening. We can learn to handle them better, save human lives, and partially protect livelihoods.

Whether natural disasters can all be traced back to climate change crisis or not, governments and other organisations will have to be prepared to deal with the disasters and help people. There is also the possibility of taking much preventive action. For example, in the 1990s, the eastern coast of India and Bangladesh were subject to periodic tropical cyclones, which used to result in the death of tens of thousands. But cyclone warning systems, and cyclone shelters have reduced the death toll to zero.

But cyclones have not gone away. This fact seems to be borne in mind. There is the large issue of the long-term effects of climate change, and the strategy to deal with it would have to be different. The nuanced approach is needed to maintain clarity in the matter concerning facts of weather and facts of climate. This will improve the efficiency of governmental response to natural disasters on the one hand, and that of climate change on the other.