Climate change is real and here to stay. So it seems with Kerala reeling under the burning sun and temperatures soaring to 40 degree Celsius in the northern districts of Kannur and Palakkad.
Weathermen attribute this to the El Nino phenomenon coupled with failure of the ‘Thula Mazha’ (November Rains) in the state.
El Nino is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in east-central Pacific region. It is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) –a cycle of warm and cold temperatures as measured by the sea surface temperature of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Scientific evidence points to climate change creating an inclination towards more extreme El Ninos in recent years.
Water stored in the reservoirs in this usually vibrant green southern state are depleting at an alarming level with drinking water availability teetering at an all time new dangerous low.
Authorities have issued warnings against venturing out in the sun at peak hours to avoid chronic sunburns and acute dehydration with the state labour department even letting its daily-wage labourers to rest at noon time to avoid the same.
Indiscriminate felling off trees in the name of developmental projects and rapid loss of the green cover only serves to exacerbate the worsening heat with daily commuters bearing the brunt.