If you live in North India, chances are that you’ve been staying indoors as much as you can in the last few weeks. Afternoons haven’t been about enjoying gur wali chai while basking in the winter sunlight, but surviving the chill of the cold wave. The poor and homeless have been especially affected; approximately 106 of them have succumbed to the frigid weather this winter.
This calamity hasn’t been restricted just to Delhi. Large parts of Jammu and Kashmir have been shivering, with temperatures dropping to -6°C, freezing parts of Srinagar’s iconic Dal Lake. Even South India hasn’t been exempt - Goa’s residents found themselves hunting for sweaters and blankets to deal with unusually chilly mornings.
Where’s this cold coming from?
What India’s going through isn’t a random, isolated occurrence. It’s woven in with larger weather systems that are increasingly turning extreme, fuelled by climate change.
In unfortunate irony, while India’s been suffering a cold wave, Europe’s been facing unusual winter heat. Poland, where average temperatures hover around 1°C, spent New Year’s day at an unseasonably warm 19°C. In India, meanwhile, these heatwaves are likely to feature throughout summer. Between May and March last year, Delhi experienced five such heat waves, with temperatures breaching 49C.
What’s behind India’s chill right now is La Niña. This is a weather phenomenon characterised by cooling sea surface temperatures over the east and central Pacific Ocean. Because of these changes in temperature and pressure, cold wind from North and Central Asia, specifically Siberia, flows into the Indian subcontinent, lowering temperatures here.
The impact of this Russian winter wind will go beyond just this cold wave. Though it’s bringing frigid cold to parts of the Himalayas, it’s keeping out moist Mediterranean winds that bring snow. So far this winter, Himachal Pradesh and J&K have seen snowfall deficiencies of 97% and 80% respectively.
This doesn’t bode well for the summer ahead - snow melt is a key water source for these states and the rivers that flow from them. Similar conditions in 2018 led to Shimla’s worst-ever water crisis, forcing the city to turn tourists away. This also puts agricultural harvests at risk, threatening food supplies as well.
Is there anything we can do?
These weather extremes are deadly, not only to humans but to all plant and animal life. They’re a slow-setting symptom of climate change that’s altering the way we live and, for many unfortunate souls, may even become a reason for death.
It’s not a cheery thought, especially since no one person can change the global systems that cause these crises. But whether at an individual or societal level, we need to adapt.
For one, you’re going to need to stay warm in the cold weather, and there are eco-friendly ways to do this. You can start by making sure that your winter wear is sustainably sourced. Buy from trusted brands or, better yet, borrow from friends and family. Remember to keep a blanket handy. Instead of using energy-guzzling heaters, get rubber or electric hot water bottles to warm yourself throughout the day and night.
Don’t restrict your actions just to your wardrobe or winter habits. Trust us, you’re not alone in switching to an eco-friendly lifestyle. People around the world are trying to live in harmony with the planet, evidenced by the millions that signed up for Veganuary (vegan January) 2023.
There are many ways, big and small, that you can make a difference. Reducing your meat and dairy consumption is perhaps the biggest, and for which substitutes are readily available. People who eat meat are responsible for approximately twice the greenhouse gas emissions of vegetarians, and 2.5 times that of vegans.
The clothes you wear matter a lot too. Switching from fast fashion to sustainably produced clothing can drastically reduce the water footprint of your wardrobe, lower soil pollution from factory run-off, and require less energy to manufacture. There are many other things you can do, like using public transport, composting organic waste from your house, reducing plastic usage, and more.
Remember to compliment these personal choices with social and political ones. Vote for candidates that want to bring about change. Join movements like the Extinction Rebellion or support local causes that are fighting to save the environment in your city.
These may not be convenient decisions, and it may not feel like they amount to much, but every big movement is made of millions of small actions that come together. There’s proof that change is possible, and on a large scale - the ozone layer, which in the 1980s was being severely damaged, is now healing!
