climate change

There is no denial about the planet’s changing climate. Over the past hundred years, the earth’s average temperature has increased by 0.74degrees Celsius. Scientists predict that the global average temperature in 2100 AD is likely to increase by 1 degree Celsius to 6.3 degree Celsius. The increase in earth temperature, mostly prompted by the emission of greenhouse gases, has led to frequent events like drought, floods and other adverse climatic situations, and poor countries like Nepal are likely to be affected the most.

Almost 67 percent of the glaciers in our Himalayas have retreated, as rapid as 10 meters a year. Scientists believe that most of the glaciers in the Himalayan region will vanish within 40 years as a result of global warming, increasing the mass in glacier lakes and ultimately increasing the risks of catastrophic Glacier Lake Outburst Flood. Equally threatened by climate change is our traditional agricultural pattern. Due to dependency on rain for agriculture, production has been severely affected by unwanted rain and prolonged drought. This in turn has further hiked the already prevalent food shortage in the far western regions of Nepal.

Nepal is ranked sixth in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) though our contribution on global carbon emission is only 0.025 percent. Developed countries along with the big emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Brazil have large and growing emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There are therefore responsible for the climate change threatening the planet Earth. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change has already taken its toll on the poor and vulnerable majority of the developing countries. With no safety nets, they are left helpless at every strike of nature year after year. More than anyone, it is the big economies that thrive on industries, which need to get their act together to alleviate climate change. They also need to help the developing countries with greater financial and technical means to cope with the climate change and its consequences.

Climate change is here and its impact on our lives is going to be a part of the whole environmental picture. Challenges have increased alarmingly in matters of food security, water supply, outbreak of diseases and bio-diversity. As long as big and emerging economies of the world are reluctant to commit to reduce their emissions, countries like Nepal will continue to live at the mercy of the Mother Nature.