Editorial: Staring into the abyss

One of the big ticket releases that have hit the multiplex this summer is a film called Furiosa, a prequel of sorts to the 2015 blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road. The film chronicles a planet ravaged by the fallout of climate change, populated by a handful of survivors that have transformed themselves into a motley crew of savages, wrecking destruction on one another in pursuit of a few essential elixirs such as fuel for their vehicles, and water, which happens to be the only consumable item in a parched land. The timing of the release of this film is telling, when considered in the backdrop of the devastation being witnessed across different pockets of the world, thanks to increasingly volatile and extreme climatic phenomena.

More than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive in last Friday’s landslide in Papua New Guinea and the government has formally asked for international help. The government figure is roughly triple the UN estimate of 670 killed by the landslide in the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior. Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak loom at the scene of the disaster because of water streams and bodies trapped beneath the tons of debris that swept over a village. Prime Minister James Marape cited ‘extraordinary rainfall’ and changes to weather patterns for multiple disasters in the nation this year.

Even before one could recover from the shock dealt by the PNG landslide, the US found itself gripped by the onslaught of yet another extreme weather event. As many as 19 people, including two children, were reported to have been killed in powerful storms that ravaged the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas in the central US, destroying homes and plunging thousands into darkness amid rising temperatures. As per the National Weather Service, Sunday appeared to be the hottest day with record-setting highs for late May forecasts for many regions in Texas. Red Flag fire warnings were also issued in New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado.

Closer home, cyclone Remal tore through West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh with winds speeds reaching 135 km per hour, leading to the deaths of at least two persons in the state where the coastal areas suffered extensive damage to infrastructure and property. Nature’s fury was up for display in Mizoram as well where at least 25 people, including 14 in a stone quarry collapse, were killed on Tuesday due to landslides and incessant rain in the aftermath of cyclone Remal. Several other people went missing in landslides, mostly in the state capital region, which was cut off from the rest of the country for several hours during the day.

In Tamil Nadu, the dog days of summer saw Chennai sizzle at 41.1 degree Celsius, the season’s highest, recorded on Monday. Since the second week of March, several parts of the State were under the grip of intense heat, with the mercury level breaching 40 degree Celsius in many districts. The woes were compounded by high humidity, which was little consolation as the usually cool nights we take for granted have also become a thing of history. The Doomsday Clock, which was updated in January this year, was left at 90 seconds to midnight, similar to what it was last year reflecting a ‘continuing and unprecedented level of risk’. These developments spell big trouble — not in the long run, but right here, right now.