Climate Change: Rewind 2024

Climate Change: Rewind 2024

KAKALI DAS

Rewinding 2024, it marked the hottest day and the hottest months ever recorded, making it almost certain to be the hottest year in history.

Lack of Snow

Gulmarg, renowned as Kashmir’s winter wonderland, is typically bustling with skiers gliding down snow-covered slopes.

However, this year, the high-altitude tourist destination remains bare, with little to no snowfall.

Cyclones

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Alvaro, the first cyclone of 2024, made landfall near Morombe, Madagascar, on January 1, 2024.

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Extreme Heat

A state of emergency was declared in Chile as wildfires ravaged coastal towns, claiming the lives of 112 people, according to reports.

Temperatures across India surged, with four states experiencing either heatwave conditions or unusually warm nights between March 27 and April 1.

The IMD predicted that El Niño, often associated with warmer temperatures in many parts of the world, including India, may turn neutral within the season, with a possibility of La Niña conditions developing during the monsoon.

An unusual heatwave swept across the north-eastern region of India, affecting Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.

As voting took place for the world’s largest democracy, forecasts of extreme heat added to the challenges of conducting the six-week-long election. Despite this, climate change remains a relatively minor issue in India’s election discourse.

Glacier Meltdown

The Hindu-Kush Himalaya region faced a critical challenge in 2024, and one country has recently lost all of its glaciers. Once home to six glaciers, Venezuela has likely become the first country in modern history to lose all of its glaciers.

Floods

In recent years, the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HK) region has been experiencing an increasing number of flood-related events.

Floods and landslides across Kenya have claimed 181 lives since March, displacing hundreds of thousands. In Bangladesh, nearly 2 million people have been stranded, and at least 31 deaths have been reported due to flash floods.

On the night of June 27^th, intense rainfall and flooding hit Delhi and the National Capital Region. The sudden downpour led to 11 deaths in the capital city of New Delhi.

Assam, a state typically accustomed to the annual monsoon deluge, is facing an unprecedented challenge in 2024. As of July 8^th, 78 lives have been lost.

On August 26, Gujarat received 91.3 mm of rainfall, 18% more than the average.

In the early hours of July 30^th, 2024, massive landslides struck Kerala’s Wayanad district. On August 1^st, several cloudbursts occurred in Himachal Pradesh.

Water Crisis

India’s third-largest city is facing the worst potable water crisis in its nearly 500-year history. The worsening water shortage in Bengaluru is driving many of its approximately 14 million residents to explore various alternative solutions, including relocation.

Healthcare Emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global public health emergency following an outbreak of the Mpox virus in Africa.

The number of deaths caused by cholera has also surged in Africa. From January 1^st to September 29^th, 2024, a total of 127,283 cholera cases were reported across 17 countries in the African region.

On the morning of November 18^th, 2024, Delhi recorded its first Air Quality Index (AQI) of the season, reaching a staggering 481. The National Capital Region (NCR) was enveloped in dangerously high pollution, worsened by unfavorable meteorological conditions.

COP29

Delegates from around the world attended the summit with high expectations, particularly given that COP29 was initiated as a finance-focused conference. However, by the end, no clear or tangible outcomes on this front were observed.

Negotiators walked out of consultations over a text that proposed a meagre $300 billion from developed countries and other sources by 2035 to support developing countries.

“Trust is the basis for all action, and this incident is indicative of a lack of trust, a lack of collaboration. We absolutely object to this unfair means followed for adoption,” a delegate at COP said.

Coldwave

The onset of the La Niña phenomenon in September 2024 is expected to bring a significant drop in temperatures and increased rainfall across the world. Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have witnessed a fresh spell of snowfall, while the Union Territory has frozen at -28°C.

Unfortunately, this vicious cycle of heat, water scarcity, and floods is only going to intensify in an age of climate change.

27-12-2024

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