When the unprecedented becomes routine
It was not so long ago that scientists predicted climate change would make monsoons unpredictable; as a result, rain-fed food grain cultivation in South Asia would suffer significantly and total cereal production would decline. Unfortunately, that prediction is becoming true day by day, with many parts of India now battling heavy rains and flooding. What was once a warning has become a pattern.
In 2023, 2024 and 2025, the world witnessed some of the hottest years on record, each surpassing the previous one. There is no doubt that this crisis is unexpected, yet one cannot deny that it has arrived because of man’s own deeds. The situation across the globe has become so alarming that one question comes to everyone’s mind: “Is there nothing we can do against nature’s fury?” Does this question really need an answer?
Despite the galloping scientific achievements mankind has witnessed, we have never been able to question the invincibility of Nature. While textbooks are filled with lessons on natural calamities, there is still no breakthrough in predicting or preventing them with certainty. In such a scenario, the best bet for any country is to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. A recent scientific study has concluded that almost all of the summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is likely to disappear by the end of this century because of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. In India, another study has predicted that by the middle of the century, sea levels will rise by 24.1 cm, causing coastal floods and more cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, while the average temperature in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai will increase by three to four degrees Celsius. That prediction no longer feels distant. Delhi has already recorded some of its heaviest monsoon rainfall in decades, while Mumbai’s low-lying areas now flood with alarming regularity.
It has taken many scientists a long time to accept that the world’s climate is changing because of human activity. The burgeoning population, increasing industrial activity, deforestation and the rampant exploitation of the earth’s natural resources have altered our ecosystem irreversibly. The devastating consequences are now becoming apparent. However, despite all these developments, many experts continue to explain extreme weather as isolated local phenomena instead of recognising the larger picture. It is obvious that the Earth’s climate is changing for the worse. Nature, which has sustained human civilisation for thousands of years by providing sunshine, food and water, is turning harsher. The world went agog when a country like the UAE, associated more with deserts, witnessed rare snow and hail on its northern mountain peaks a few years ago. Similarly, the devastating tsunami, which killed lakhs of people, showed how powerless humans are before the forces of nature. The lesson has not faded with time. Dubai, the same desert emirate, was paralysed in 2024 when a year’s worth of rain fell in a single day, turning highways into rivers. Closer home, the Wayanad landslides buried entire hillside settlements in Kerala, while glacial lake floods in Sikkim swept away a dam and homes with barely any warning. Each of these events was described as unprecedented. None of them should have been. These manifestations of nature’s fury cannot be mere anomalies. They are increasingly becoming the result of the damage done to the environment by human beings. In other words, we are now paying the price for abusing nature. Yet we continue to ignore these warning signs in pursuit of economic growth. Instead of learning from our mistakes, we are trying to outsmart nature.
But no amount of technology or money can save us from nature’s wrath. It is still not too late to adopt sustainable, nature-friendly practices. This requires a shift from acquisition and consumption to sharing and caring. These cyclonic rains are nature’s warning bells. If we fail to change, even greater disasters may await us.
The writer is a spiritual teacher and a columnist; Views presented are personal.
