Kosmos Biswokarma – Our planet is changing and changing fast, at an alarming rate. The changes in climate and weather patterns are now taking a toll around the world, and going by the latest worldwide report released early this month, many of these changes are irreversible.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on August 9 giving a stark warning that human activity is warming the planet and causing unprecedented impact many of which are irreversible.

The concentrations of CO2 gases are growing faster and oceans are getting hotter and higher while the extreme weather conditions are causing massive damages. Recent events and damages and casualties have indicated that the world needs to think differently to face off the challenges posed by the extreme climatic changes.

The IPCC report clearly states that the temperatures could rise by more than 1.5 degree centigrade which is against the 2015 Paris agreement of countries who signed the global accord. The report has been released at a time when the member countries are gathering in Glasgow for COP26 this November.

All the member countries do agree that the humans need to act immediately and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions significantly to reduce the possibility of extreme weather conditions.

In Nepal too, we have seen many serious effects of changing climate this monsoon. People in the high hills of Manang witnessed unprecedented flash floods with devastating effects which they have never seen before. The otherwise quiet villages in Manang, a major tourist attraction, have woken up to believe that climate change is real. However, it definitely demands a proper scientific study to establish the bitter truth.

Similar floods on Melamchi River too had a devastating impact on the lives of people living in Melamchi, close to the capital. Many lost their lives, several still remain missing and dozens of houses remain under the rubble. Though scientists are scrambling to find out what actually happened around the source of the river, one major debacle was the severe impact on Melamchi drinking water project which the people in capital Kathmandu have been waiting to quench their thirst for several decades. It has now been pushed further.

These are just examples of how extreme weather conditions and changing patterns are affecting our lives. We, therefore, need to do something now. As far as we understand, the efforts of Nepal government are not too bad, given the situation we are in right now. However, we need to do much more, work really hard and move fast.

Besides taking various measures to adapt to the changing climate and mitigate its impact, one thing that every one of us needs to think is – changing our overall outlook on development. The government and the planners need to realize that we need to find nature-based solutions for sustainable development. The long-standing dispute on ‘environment or development’ needs to be resolved by adopting environment-friendly development approach to save the already dwindling natural resources. And, this too, we need to act now, instead of regretting later.