At least 10 people were killed in a landslide when a bus and other vehicles got stuck at Nigulsari in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. This is no longer an unusual case, as HP has already seen many such calamities in the recent past. And it’s not just HP or other extreme conditioned states in India, but the whole world is witnessing an unaccustomed increase in the number of such disasters.
Believe it or not, the main reason behind such severe and serious calamities is climatic change, deforestation and of course global warming. If the climatic changes are not taken seriously then it could assuredly result in a calamitous disaster.
There has been an increase of 116% in the incidents of landslides and a 121% increase in the incidents of cloudbursts in HP as compared to last year. Also, there was a sudden flood in Chamoli, due to which a hydro-project and dam broke down and many people died.
Most of the landslides in India are the result of so-called development which can be seen in the form of construction works on the mountains.
Another major reason for the landslides is heavy and unseasonal rains, for which climate change is believed to be highly responsible. According to scientists, as mountain or glacial ice is melting at a faster pace, the weight distribution of mountains changes and the tectonic plates below the Earth are more likely to collide, causing earthquakes and landslides.
The monsoon has an important place in the life of us Indians. The monsoon season, which runs from June to September in the country, brings with it happiness and the reason for this is that there is hardly any aspect of Indian life that is untouched by it. Our social, economic and political life, everything is affected by the monsoon. This is the reason why we Indians eagerly wait for the monsoon.
However, it has been seen for the past few years that the monsoon rains now bring disaster with them. Changes in weather patterns are being seen not only in our country but in the world due to global warming.
In India too, the temperature is increasing due to global warming and due to this, there is a lot of rain and drought conditions being created in some places. Meteorologist GD Mishra says that due to excessive emission of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, the temperature of the earth is increasing.
Greenery is also decreasing. The temperature of the earth has increased by one degree Celsius compared to the last century. At the same time, the sea temperature has increased by 0.6-0.7 degrees Celsius. In the Indian Ocean, the temperature has increased even more. Due to this, humidity has increased, resulting in unusual rain.
Manshi Asher of Himdhara Collective, an environmental research and action collective, said in an interview with IANS that the locals have been going against hydroelectric development for more than a decade. And now the youth are also actively demanding a ban on these projects.
And to some extent, it is correct because saying yes to any development in hills means risking the climate and natural resources and inviting such disasters. Saying “no” to any development that threatens their existence and the environment’s existence is a win-win.