We are witnessing impacts of climate changes in a variety of ways. Almost every day, in one or other part of the globe, more frequent and intensifying weather and climate events are observed, including storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and wildfires. This year, as summer continues in the Northern Hemisphere, we are facing the relentless and devastating power of extreme heat waves. Our country is literally burning. Delhi touched a record temperature of close to 500 C. There were reports of forest fires, of buildings going up in flames, of electrical equipment burning.

Surprisingly, even leaves are being burnt to a crisp. In fact, the heat wave is a national emergency. Above all, it remains a fact that the extraordinary Indian summer could be a warning message to the world. In Saudi Arabia, the extreme heat wave turned the sacred Haj pilgrimage into a perilous journey. In the US over 80 million people are under heat alert. The Balkans and the Mediterranean regions are also reeling under blistering effects of heat waves. What is a matter of serious concern is that the World Meteorological Organisation has predicted that future years will likely surpass current temperature records. The world is on the boil and all this will only get worse, not just in India but across the world. Global warming has put humans in a situation which could metaphorically be compared with the boiling frog syndrome.

A frog is put in a vessel of water and the vessel is slowly heated. As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. Thus, the frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature. But just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore. At that point, the frog tries to jump out of the vessel, but in vain because the frog has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature. Eventually, the frog is boiled alive. The tale is often told as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react or to be aware of the sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. Global temperature has not increased suddenly. It has changed gradually.

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Our situation is a bit like the proverbial frog. The syndrome teaches us that unlike the frog, had we taken appropriate decisions vis-à-vis timely actions we could have escaped the fate faced by the frog. We are quite aware of the fact of gradual rises in global temperature, dire........

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