Climate change is no more a myth and is a harsh reality. Several pieces of literature along with scientific demonstration are proving that rising temperatures are linked to changing weather patterns. Due to rising temperatures drought, storms, wildfires & extreme weather conditions have become a routine thing. Journalists visited to discover how the locals across southern Kenya and Myanmar are coping with extreme weather.
A recently published news story highlights the devastating lives of the herding community living in drought-stricken Kenya. The area is witnessing erratic weather patterns due to climate change. The change in the weather patterns has led to lack of vegetation and water resources. These things are eventually jeopardizing the survival of livestock and the pastoralist way of life. Sharing his experience about weather patterns, Joshua Ntaserua, a Maasai herder said that he lost roughly 15 beasts when he migrated near Tanzania.
The report further highlights the devastating condition of mangrove forests in the Ayerwaddy Delta in the south of Myanmar. People are cutting down mangrove forests in order to plant rice and prawns. The report further suggests that mangroves are being destroyed at rates three to five times higher than global deforestation and only 16 percent of the original cover is left in the Delta Region. Win Meung, a seasoned ecologist, said that mangrove conditions are severely degraded because of the fact that villagers don’t have a permanent job so they cut trees to get money. The Mangrove forests are considered as vital to fighting against climate change and extreme weather events. They further help in mitigating carbon emissions.
The adverse effects of Climate Change are not limited to specific areas. They are influencing the whole global community. One recently published article on climate change suggests that it is giving birth to insect-borne tropical diseases in the United States. In his article, columnist Tom Toles has said that it is not just the rising temperatures but also the associated tropical diseases like West Nile virus, dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika are going to give sleepless nights to the citizens. The climate change is considered as an originator of extreme weather conditions like storms and cyclones which will eventually tropical diseases.
These reports are considered as extremely important owing to the fact that these are bringing forth the harsh reality of climate change. Though global warming and climate change have been proven scientifically, yet there are people still around who consider all these things as myth. These reports are putting as pieces of evidence in order to spread awareness about the devastating effects of global warming and climate change. The drought, warming oceans, melting ice caps and rising sea levels are disturbing the ecology of the planet in one or the other. It’s time for the global community to stand and protect Mother Earth else the end would be near.