Are we doing enough?

The Paris Climate Conference 2015 attended by delegates of 200 countries came to a common understanding in negotiating major issues. The success of the summit, however, is a matter of great rejoicing mainly on account of the fact that it commenced after a great terror-stricken situation and backdrop of previously failed protocols.

I am reminded of a more than 100-year-old incident mentioned in the records of the Geological Survey of India. The Birahi Ganga is a branch of the Alakhnanda river in Garhwal Himalaya and was blocked by tons of rock mass forming a 270-metre-high dam and a lake was developed near Gohna in Pauri Garhwal, a district in Uttarakhand. It was first noticed by Lieutenant Crookshank in September 1893, in which he gave the prediction that the dam would burst on August 25, 1894. Indeed, it took place on the exact same date.

However, since the district surveyor T.H. Holland had worked out disaster management details beforehand, it helped to save lives and property. It is surprising that there was only one death.

With that in mind, it is imperative that scientists, journalists and people from all over the world discuss the pros and cons of rising sea levels as well as long-term ecological consequences for all living beings.

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