Lucifer, me and my kids
NOT daring to challenge Lucifer in true sense,watching the current scenes of burning fires, unprecedented heat waves, earthquakes, cyclones and floods show that the heat wave nick named “Lucifer” is actually creating hell on earth.
Extreme hot weather has been reported in Spain, Italy, Portages and Greece and uncontrollable recent fires in Turkey and Arizona.
The question does arise that how well prepared are we for such events in future? While 18 years old Swedish Greta Thunberg challenges UN and world leaders for aiding actions against the globe, we do have skeptics who shun the idea of Climate Change as a conspiracy.
Where do we go from here to curtail Lucifer then?
On one busy evening in the streets of Hawaii the jubilant mood of the masses suddenly changed as local TV warned of a hurricane in Big Island likely to reach Honolulu in a few hours’ time.
The attitude of the crowd having street food, listening to street music changed. More focused they started buying dry food items, huge bottles of water, canned food, milk, batteries and off the counter medication.
The Waikiki beach was empty within minutes and after a few hours one could see empty streets, shuttered down windows and rescue relief vehicles parked in every street.
Deep grey skies and ocean seemed to be one huge mass of rain waves and water, yet the warning systems worked.
It was a huge world war bunker able to sustain high earthquake shakes where the Emergency Information and Monitoring hub was situated.
The computerized system divided each region of Honolulu while continuously monitoring the water-logging, wind pressure and population data for each sector. Ok the Government was well prepared.
An interesting report on CNN reported that Hong Kong had built a vast $3.8 billion rain-tunnel network, running nearly the length of Hong Kong Island protecting the city from flooding caused by seasonal typhoons.
It took five years to build a 10.5 kilometre tunnel with capacity to intercept one third of rainwater at 34 points taking the water directly into the ocean. Ok again the government is ready.
Islamabad had a taste of fire on Margalla hills, flood in E-11 and urban flooding in Karachi last year raising questions on our preparedness to deal with natural disasters.
The Karachi urban flooding due to rain broke 89 years old record and caused an estimated loss of $ 71 million during the rainy week.
The World Bank Climate Change Portal puts Pakistan at high risk for continued changing patterns of weather with heat waves increasing both in intensity and duration.
In 2015, over 65000 people were hospitalized for heat stroke, while as per UNISDR Pakistan incurred a loss of one billion dollars in 2010 monsoon flooding affecting one fifth of the whole country.
Yes, global warming is a phenomenon and climate change is one impact of global warming showing the earth is facing long-term changes in weather patterns, resulting in sudden floods, fires, food scarcity and water crisis.
The more greenhouse effect the more climate shows changing patterns and high probability of occurrence of disasters related to heat and cold variation, putting human security at risk worldwide. That’s where we need to study the climate change phenomenon with relation to human behaviour.
Here, I dare to differ with the policy and preparedness component focusing on technical aspects, engineering solutions, town planning which by the end of the day put all responsibility on the governments and disaster related Institutions for any loss by disaster.
We exclude the human factors and behaviour of the masses that contribute to pollution and increase our vulnerability.
The research on global warming mostly forget “the human” factor where decision-making for attitude change and adopting preventive behaviours involves complex cognitive, emotional, economic and environmental factors.
Maybe that’s where the masses continue to flout risk preventive behaviour, unknowingly contributing to the phenomenon of global warming which will bring Lucifer here too!
Masses need to be informed that living on nullahs with human animal waste and plastic bags mixed in water, overcrowded cities and electricity network hanging on our heads, factories spilling their waste in natural water resources acidifying water, unmonitored hospital waste spilled on roads, burning massive heaps of household waste in open, cutting of trees and crushing of mountains are all contributing to global warming putting our children at risk. Everyone has to play a part in controlling climate change.
Masses need to be aware of the phenomenon in simple terms to help them change their behaviour and to emphasize that neither the government nor the disaster management institutions can do anything until the public plays its part.
While expansion of Nullahs opening blocked drainage is well on its way in Karachi, change in approach from technical to human behaviour is need of time along with challenging the perception that makes government or the institutions solely responsible to handle natural disasters.
Both media and masses need to be trained about the human factors contributing to likely natural disasters in future.
Yes, we need tough policies, strong technical and engineering solutions, but we all have to work and change our behaviour to leash the Lucifer unleashed by all of us for our children in future.
—The writer is Clinical Psychologist and Fellow of Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies.
