India has been an anomaly lately, and I always have a feeling that a new crisis is breaking out, a huge warning sign for all of humanity.
Because India is too hot right now, it is scorching deadly heat.
When China was still in the late spring, India had already entered the summer early, and it was a summer that made Indians difficult as soon as they played.
some data.
The past March was the hottest March on record in India since 1901.
In north-central India, the average temperature in April was the highest in 122 years.
Just last week, in at least 10 cities in India, the maximum temperature exceeded 45 degrees Celsius.
Cold can freeze people to death, heat can also heat people to death.
In the western Indian state of Maharashtra alone, 25 people died of heatstroke recently, the highest death toll in the past five years, according to Reuters . If zoomed in to the whole of India, the death toll would be terrifying.
Some places in China have temporarily closed schools recently because of epidemic prevention; but in India, the epidemic has not been considered much, and a large number of schools have closed because of heat waves.
The temperature is too high, so how to prevent heatstroke and cool down?
The Indians tragically found that there was no money, let alone electricity.
The heat wave crisis has triggered an energy crisis.
70% of India's electricity comes from coal. But there are many coal-fired power plants in India, and coal is now in extreme shortage, causing daily power outages in many states.
As of the end of April, 94 of India's 165 coal-fired power plants were severely under-supplied, while eight were inoperable, according to data from India's Central Electricity Authority. This means that Indian coal stocks have fallen below 25% of normal levels.
Coal is in short supply, so what about imports?
The Indians have tragically discovered that coal is too expensive and unaffordable.
Because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, global energy prices have skyrocketed, oil prices have risen, gas prices have risen, and coal prices have also doubled. In March, the international thermal coal price reached US$400, which is a price that India cannot afford.
Therefore, no matter what the West persuades, India is still desperately importing discounted Russian coal and oil, but far water still cannot quench its thirst.
The heat wave crisis and the energy crisis have triggered a new economic crisis.
In Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other places in India, there may be six or seven hours of power outages every day. The power outage has caused Indian companies to lament. The companies cannot produce, but they have to pay wages. What should I do? ?
Then hurry up to get the coal to the power plant. On Friday, the Ministry of Railways canceled more than 750 passenger trains to allow more freight trains to pass the coal from the mine to the power plant.
The crisis has also triggered other disasters for people's livelihood. In addition to more and more people dying from heat stroke, some huge landfills have also caught fire because of the heat; the temperature has suddenly risen, Indians can't stand it, Indian crops can't stand it either, many The seedlings withered in the field.
India is the world's second largest wheat producer. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has already led to an international food crisis. If India fails to harvest, the crisis will be more serious.
This is the status quo in India.
Alas, the whole world is equally hot and cold. In China, the epidemic is repeated; but in India, the epidemic is no longer considered, but the heat wave has killed more people.
The situation in India also happened in Pakistan. On April 29, the temperature in two cities in southeastern Pakistan reached 47 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in the northern hemisphere that day.
The highest temperature in the northern hemisphere is also the highest temperature in the world.
So much so that Pakistani Minister of Climate Change Sheri Lehman was very emotional, saying: This is the first time in decades that Pakistan has experienced "a year without spring".
I'm not a meteorologist, but I think we've all seen too many abnormal weather in the last 20 or 30 years.
The weather is getting hotter, not only in India, in Pakistan, but also in China. I remember when I was a child, the Jiangnan area was also dripping into ice in winter. The river ice was thick enough to walk on, and there would be long icicles hanging down from the eaves. Is there still today? (This sentence, do not accept refutation, because I have experienced it myself)
Europe and the United States are not much better.
In June last year, the United States experienced the "hottest June" in 127 years. In 1,238 places in the United States, the temperature during the day set a new record; in 1,503 places, the temperature at night set a new historical record.
In Canada, British Columbia alone has reported at least 700 accidental deaths in just one week. The heat sparked wildfires that set the town of Leiden on fire.
Animals also fell into big mold. In Kitsilano Beach near Vancouver, a lot of shellfish is "cooked" directly on the beach... densely packed.
In northern Europe, many countries do not have cooling air conditioners in summer. When a heat wave hits, those who are able to go to escape the heat and those who are unable to stay in the oven have many news of the death of people every year.
According to the World Climate Attribution (WWA) study, in which scientists compared historical climate data with contemporary weather, the extreme weather measured last year in Canada and the United States occurs only about once every thousand years.
Once in a thousand years!
But our generation has caught up, because our planet has more greenhouse gas emissions than ever before. According to the current level of carbon emissions, the earth will warm by another 2 degrees Celsius within a few decades, and such heat waves may occur every 5 to 10 years.
Specific to India, according to an analysis by climatologist Frederick Otto of Imperial College London, climate change is making hot temperatures hotter and more frequent, with heat waves likely to hit India every four years, rather than every one in the past. Every five years.
That is to say, India's future heat waves will be more frequent and hotter.
This is not just a heat wave crisis, it may be followed by energy crisis, food crisis, economic crisis, and possibly even political crisis, social crisis, and human survival crisis.
Of course, the crisis also affects us in China.
Have you noticed that in recent years, China has had a lot of rain, especially in the north, even more than in the south.
The bad news is that the torrential rain caused flash floods, causing urban waterlogging, and causing heavy loss of personnel and property; the good news is that the loess plateau is also covered with green, and the Gobi near Dunhuang is said to have grown grass.
Please note that I am not denying the intention of China's afforestation efforts in the slightest. As the nation that loves farming the most in the world, our efforts are indeed earth-shattering, but we can't ignore the major changes brought about by climate change that cannot be imagined by human beings . The change.
It is entirely a personal opinion. I don't know if it has something to do with geography. The impact of climate change on the island countries in South Asia from the West is always greater than that on China.
But India's recent heatwave is a warning sign. Extreme weather is on the rise and is becoming a "new normal". What's happening in India now, it could happen tomorrow in America, Europe, even China, and even Russia.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the epidemic of the century have made mankind, who has experienced waves of toss and turns, face new crises, longer and more terrifying crises.
The skyrocketing energy prices, the failure of food crops, and the risk of economic crisis have made more countries dare not give up coal easily. Coal emits more carbon dioxide, further contributing to climate change.
We only have one earth, and the earth can't afford more trouble.
The recent extreme heat in India and Pakistan is a warning sign.
In many places on earth, there is no spring.
评论
发表评论