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| Marc Manhart/Pixabay |
Analyse this;
Between 2016-2019, nearly a thousand homes in coastal areas of Kerala were partially or completely destroyed due to tidal attacks and extreme weather events linked to climate change.
Global warming is having its worst impact on Kerala as it is jammed between the Western Ghats on one side and the sea on the other.
Per ocean weather watchers, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are warming at a rate of 1.1 degree Celsius every 120 years, while other oceans are warming at a lower rate of 0.8-0.9 degree Celsius in the same period of time. This difference in temperature levels is leading to increasingly 'freaky weather'.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently reported that INR 2,450 crore has been spent under the 'Punargeham' project to rehabilitate over 18,000 families living in coastal areas, where climate changes and tidal attacks pose a continuous threat to their lives.
As part of the Punargeham (meaning regenerate) project, 308 houses and 276 flats, in various districts of the state were handed over to fishermen families living on the state's coastline. Affected families were committed INR 10 lakh each as part of the regeneration package, which included INR 6 lakh for purchasing land and INR 4 lakh for home construction.
The Way Ahead?
The Way Ahead?
Thousands of crores MUST be spent regularly till the end of time by India's coastal states, to tide over the immediate risk posed by weather events resulting from global warming.
Tax payers, brace yourselves for impact please. This is not a one-off relocation anymore but on the contrary, the new norm.