We are definitely living in anomalous times – what else could explain 40º Celsius temperatures in the snowbound plains of Siberia and Canada? Or snowfall in the Sahara desert? Or floods in the Arabian desert? Increasing occurrences of such Ripleysque events have the imprimatur of climate change ~ which all Governments blandly deny. The most Government spokesmen will concede is that we may experience climate change by the end of the twentyfirst century, to counter which, they have laid down elaborate goals for 2050 or 2070. Paradoxically, frequent extreme climate events are visible to everyone – except politicians looking only at vote-banks.

An indication of impending disaster is the increasing frequency of extreme climate events: * Temperatures are rising worldwide, because increasing greenhouse gas emissions trap more heat in the atmosphere. According to the World Metrological Organisation, the last nine years have been the hottest on record. According to Scientific American, July 2023 was the hottest month in the last 1,20,000 years, with heatwaves in Europe, North America, North Africa, China and Japan.

Every month since June 2023 ~ 13 months in a row ~ has ranked as the planet’s hottest since recordkeeping began. The world’s average temperature was the highest on record, at 1.64º Celsius above the pre-industrial average. Worryingly, last month was the hottest June on record, and 2024 may turn out to be the hottest year till now. * Recognising that droughts are becoming longer and more extreme globally, the UN marked 17 June 2024 as ‘Desertification and Drought Day.’

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* Tropical storms are becoming more severe due to higher ocean water temperatures. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted above-normal hurricane activity for June-November 2024, with 17-25 storms, including 4-7 major hurricanes, with windspeeds exceeding 111 mph, of which Hurricane Beryl that hit the Indian World Cup team in Barbados was an example.

* Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole is melting faster with the warmer temperatures.

* As temperatures rise, there is less snowpack in mountain ranges.

* Permafrost, the permanently frozen ground, located in circumpolar areas in Canada, Alaska, Siberia and elsewhere, has acted as a carbon sink for thousands of years. Thawing permafrost could release large amounts of methane and CO2 gases, exacerbating global warming. It could also release unknown viruses, leading to a........

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