Deafening silence over climate change effects

‘Being baked alive’ perhaps best described the Sri Lankan’s experience during this Sinhala and Hindu New Year. As mercury rose mercilessly, the countrymen went through the warmest New Year in recent times and though there were regular evening showers they did a very little to cool off the day time high temperatures.  

True that there had never been cold New Year and mid-April has always seen a dry spell. However, the unprecedented rise of temperature that almost spoilt this year’s festive mood has left the public wondering whether similar spells are to come oftener in the days to come. After all, there had been a steady rise in temperatures in the months that preceded the festival too.  

Over the last few years climatologists have been warning consecutive governments here to take precautionary measures over climate change effects. However, hardly anything tangible had been done. Meanwhile in the absence of a sustainable development plan the regular wind flow that we enjoyed being an island nation is now being blocked by the condominiums that eclipse everything else in the skyline. 

They have risen at such close proximity making the beach front one big wall - like the Great Wall of China, thus preventing the cool wind flow from the sea entering the city. These buildings also block the underground natural water channels with their foundations that run deep. Last month Daily Mirror revealed that according to the German based global policy monitoring entity, Germanwatch, Sri Lanka has been positioned second in the latest ranking based on vulnerability to climate change. Still the news hardly created ripples among the politicians and officials here.  

Besides while deforestation is happening at a rate there has not been a national level reforestation plan or tree planting campaign for the past decade or so. The city of Colombo which once looked like a garden city now has the appearance of a concrete jungle. Environmentalists here have drawn the attention of the government to the need to protect watershed areas from deforestation and also prevent mangroves turning into prawn farms. 

They had also demanded tough laws to prevent removal and flattening of sand dunes by hoteliers and also dynamiting of coral reefs. However nobody in the government seems to be listening to the concerned voices.  

On Monday, thousands of members of Extinction Rebellion, the British NGO working towards greater awareness on Climate Change, gathered in central London and blocked roads to draw British government’s attention to the burning issue. They argued that instead of Brexit the parliamentarians should debate climate change as it needed,more urgent attention.The group has vowed to continue their demonstration and bring London to a standstill.  

Perhaps it’s high time that Sri Lankans too form such a movement as right now the politicians do not appear to be in a mood to listen to climatologists. Instead they are two busy checkmating political rivals. Perhaps they are thinking that the climate change effects here in Sri Lanka will disappear miraculously one fine day with a swoop of a magic wand.