The recent Mount Everest avalanche buried a dozen of Sherpa guides to death, casting a pall of gloom in the face of many Nepalis and foreigners. It has created terror all around as brave Sherpas lost their lives due to cascading blocks of ice in Khumbu region. Few Sherpas or mountaineers are killed in the Himalayan regions due to icefall every now and then. But this tragic incident cannot be ignored as normal.
Different assumptions are being made behind the reason of the avalanche, among which, few consider it as one of the fresh examples of the impact of climate change. Since Nepal has high risk of glacier outbursts, some claim it may have occurred due to the rise in temperature. Whatever the specific reason, we cannot deny the possibility that such incidents can recur. Bad signs of climate change are gradually discovered, and it’s high time to focus on it.
Climate change has been a burning issue since long on the global level. The term ‘climate change’ is being widely used, almost in every international meeting and seminar/workshop. The concern is definitely high regarding its consequence for the earth and human life. Global warming is in the peak and heat is upping every single second, causing more risk to human civilization. Its impact is not only limited to the more greenhouse gases (GHGs) producing nations, but in Nepal as well, which produces less than one percent of total GHG of the world. Nepal and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) produce less than five percent of global emissions but they are the most vulnerable to climate change effects.
Although being a country rich in natural resources and surrounded by world’s highest mountains, Nepal has witnessed impacts of climate change in different sectors. From irregular rainfall in any season to depletion of forests, water resources, soil and agriculture, and even human health has been the effect of climate change. In general, we face various environmental problems and diseases due to it.
High impact of climate change can be definitely noticed in the glacier lakes of Nepal, which burst time and again. Mountaineers claim that they don’t find much snow in the mountains as before. Gradually, snow melting in the Himalayan region has grown alarmingly high. Snowfall has decreased in many villages that fall under Himalayan range. Villages in Upper Mustang have witnessed excessive flash floods and landslides and have lost productive lands. Other parts of the nation have been undergoing through adverse impacts.
Temperature is in rapid rise. Nepal lacks uniform rainfall pattern these days. The average rainfall per day is increasing randomly. As a result, floods and landslides occur more. Agriculture has been the most affected area, since basic crops are in declining mode, which can create food problems in the future. Productive lands are losing their productivity due to drought. Natural hazards are often observed. Diseases are soaring. Climate change has been the major reason behind all these. Since climate change is directly connected to human life, we cannot avoid its consequences. As we know, natural disasters are unavoidable; nobody knows when or where they occur and how many lives will be affected.
Since the impacts of climate change can be noticed more in coming days, it is necessary to develop responses to tackle with the potential hazards in human life and environment. Nepal has already adopted strategies to mitigate and adapt to the growing impacts of climate change. It’s good news that Nepal is chairing the LDC group at UN Climate change negotiation. The government has launched various plans and programs considering the impacts of climate change. However, this is not yet enough. Until and unless the use of energy is high, no any solution can work though.
The government has constructed wide lane roads, but the means of transportation are still the same old ones. Transportation policy must be revised. Vehicles playing our roads are so old that they consume more fuel and generate much air pollution. We see few electricity-run motorbikes in roads, but their number is very low. Very few people are interested in using bicycles and alternative means of transportation. The government must encourage environment friendly vehicles.
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Road construction has already taken longer time than needed. Some roads are even not walk-able due to excessive amount of dust it produces. Disappointingly, we don’t find a single green plant in the street. Though there were few trees before, road expansion drive has destroyed them all, leaving the city barren. Trees and shrubs are required nearby every road. Not only for the environment but also for human health, fresh air is always the necessity but it is lacking in Kathmandu city.
Not only the state, but also the individual effort is equally necessary to preserve the environment to prevent possible hazards. Increasing consumption of fossil fuels has only negative impacts on environment and livelihood, thus it must be lessened. Though it’s not possible to stop climate change, it can be definitely minimized. For that, people must attempt their best for least energy consumption.
Published on Republica, 2014-05-31
http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=75919
Different assumptions are being made behind the reason of the avalanche, among which, few consider it as one of the fresh examples of the impact of climate change. Since Nepal has high risk of glacier outbursts, some claim it may have occurred due to the rise in temperature. Whatever the specific reason, we cannot deny the possibility that such incidents can recur. Bad signs of climate change are gradually discovered, and it’s high time to focus on it.
Climate change has been a burning issue since long on the global level. The term ‘climate change’ is being widely used, almost in every international meeting and seminar/workshop. The concern is definitely high regarding its consequence for the earth and human life. Global warming is in the peak and heat is upping every single second, causing more risk to human civilization. Its impact is not only limited to the more greenhouse gases (GHGs) producing nations, but in Nepal as well, which produces less than one percent of total GHG of the world. Nepal and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) produce less than five percent of global emissions but they are the most vulnerable to climate change effects.
Although being a country rich in natural resources and surrounded by world’s highest mountains, Nepal has witnessed impacts of climate change in different sectors. From irregular rainfall in any season to depletion of forests, water resources, soil and agriculture, and even human health has been the effect of climate change. In general, we face various environmental problems and diseases due to it.
High impact of climate change can be definitely noticed in the glacier lakes of Nepal, which burst time and again. Mountaineers claim that they don’t find much snow in the mountains as before. Gradually, snow melting in the Himalayan region has grown alarmingly high. Snowfall has decreased in many villages that fall under Himalayan range. Villages in Upper Mustang have witnessed excessive flash floods and landslides and have lost productive lands. Other parts of the nation have been undergoing through adverse impacts.
Temperature is in rapid rise. Nepal lacks uniform rainfall pattern these days. The average rainfall per day is increasing randomly. As a result, floods and landslides occur more. Agriculture has been the most affected area, since basic crops are in declining mode, which can create food problems in the future. Productive lands are losing their productivity due to drought. Natural hazards are often observed. Diseases are soaring. Climate change has been the major reason behind all these. Since climate change is directly connected to human life, we cannot avoid its consequences. As we know, natural disasters are unavoidable; nobody knows when or where they occur and how many lives will be affected.
Since the impacts of climate change can be noticed more in coming days, it is necessary to develop responses to tackle with the potential hazards in human life and environment. Nepal has already adopted strategies to mitigate and adapt to the growing impacts of climate change. It’s good news that Nepal is chairing the LDC group at UN Climate change negotiation. The government has launched various plans and programs considering the impacts of climate change. However, this is not yet enough. Until and unless the use of energy is high, no any solution can work though.
The government has constructed wide lane roads, but the means of transportation are still the same old ones. Transportation policy must be revised. Vehicles playing our roads are so old that they consume more fuel and generate much air pollution. We see few electricity-run motorbikes in roads, but their number is very low. Very few people are interested in using bicycles and alternative means of transportation. The government must encourage environment friendly vehicles.
Road construction has already taken longer time than needed. Some roads are even not walk-able due to excessive amount of dust it produces. Disappointingly, we don’t find a single green plant in the street. Though there were few trees before, road expansion drive has destroyed them all, leaving the city barren. Trees and shrubs are required nearby every road. Not only for the environment but also for human health, fresh air is always the necessity but it is lacking in Kathmandu city.
Not only the state, but also the individual effort is equally necessary to preserve the environment to prevent possible hazards. Increasing consumption of fossil fuels has only negative impacts on environment and livelihood, thus it must be lessened. Though it’s not possible to stop climate change, it can be definitely minimized. For that, people must attempt their best for least energy consumption.
Published on Republica, 2014-05-31
http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=75919
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