Climate Change: Ellie brings once in 100 years floods to Australia
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, January 9: In October last year, Sydney went down under with rains that broke 168 years of record. The eastern parts of Australia were flooded. Now, the western parts of Australia are reeling under once in a century floods.
The disaster management authority in Australia pressed emergency services to press for evacuation of the stranded people who are taking shelters at higher places in the inundated regions of the country. The watery havoc in Australia has unleashed an unparalleled miseries to the people and wildlife in Australia.
The climate change, which made loud arrival last year, by wreaking havoc in several parts of the world, now threatens to sweep through in the new year as well, with Australia emerging as the first victim. Australia has pressed into actions military helicopters to airlift hundreds of people from areas which have been cut off by the super floods.
Australia’s northwest is devastated by the floods, with the people telling reporters that they could see water as far as the eyes could see. Kimberley in western Australia is the worst affected. The Australian authorities have stated that the floods have been caused by the severe weather system Ellie. The tropical cyclone brought heavy rains, leading to floods. The experts are also stating that Australia has been witnessing frequent floods for over two years due to a multi-year La Nina weather event, including major flooding in the eastern regions last year.
If Lal Nina weather event is causing watery havoc in Australia, the climate change brought super floods to Pakistan and China last year. One-third of Pakistan faced floods last year because of once in a decade flooding, which hit the country after heat wave had scorched the country. China too witnessed same fate as Pakistan, with the Asian giant first facing heat wave followed by super floods. Both Pakistan and China are now reeling under unprecedented food crisis.
Last year, regions in South America also faced the wrath of the climate, as several rivers went dry, with drought like situations sweeping through a large swathe of land. The climate change mitigation efforts in the last two decades were met with lip services, as the developed countries sparred with the developing nations over the funding of the measures to bring down the carbon emissions. It may be noted that the carbon emission by the US, which has a population equal to Uttar Pradesh (25 crore), accounts for 25 times more carbon emissions than India.
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