Climatic Changes: A rude awakening (Part I)

The Death of Life Giving Rivers

A series of 5 articles published on the Times of India, 30th April 2009, was my rude awakening of how the environment against us dies, subject to the insensitive activities of human kind. These articles speak about silent changes in the environment, and yet these changes will at some point of time dramatically impact our lives, probably alter them forever.


Availability of fresh water from perenial rivers such as Ganga, Yellow and Niger has been severely compromised owing to the change in climatic patterns. Climatic changes and Global warming are impacting the water cycle in two opposite manners:
1. Increasing the glacial melts in the Polar regions thereby increasing the water level of the seas. This is expected to denude coastal areas of India and Bangladesh, not to mention New York City, San Francisco and London.
2. Global warming is also impacting the rainfall pattern and increasing the rate of evaporation thereby changing the flow leading to floods or longer dry spells impacting inhabitants, mostly in developing countries.
3. The state of the world's rivers and threat to freshwater are not entirely on account of climate change. Water pollution is another matter of grave concern. Effluents, garbage, sewage and other liquid and solid wastes that are deliberately pumped into rivers have been turning waters toxic as well as killing off aquatic life.
Thousands of litres of oil was spill into the Sutlej due to a industrial accident some time back. Besides polluting the river and cutting off oxygen suppkly to the river eco-system, the spill has compromised the Ropar wetlands, home to migratory birds.
4. And if all this is not enough, there are cases where the rivers are being killed off for supposedly "developmental" activities as is happening in Delhi where the Yamuna suffers because of the fact that our competent administration and authorities have not been able to handle the Common Wealth games preparations well. Read Post


How can we help? Increase awareness, be actively involved in saving this heritage, make your small attempts to make a large difference. I for once am joining the Jal Biradari in Delhi to save the Yamuna!