Editorial: Tinkering with Nature

The colossal loss in the Himalayan States is clear proof that the development model is flawed and ill-conceived

The monsoon mayhem witnessed in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is a grim reminder of what climate change impacts would do to the Himalayas if global warming goes unchecked. The atmosphere, land and oceans are warming at a faster pace. This has led to more water being evaporated from the earth’s surface, increasing the holding capacity of the air which results in more droplets and heavier rainfall in a shorter space of time over a smaller area. The science of global warming is clear that if we continue to emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it will enhance the air’s capacity to hold more and more water. The probability of an ordinary rainfall event intensifying into an extremely heavy one will increase because of global warming, the likes of which we are witnessing in Himachal and Uttarakhand where landslides, triggered by heavy rains, killed several people and caused huge economic damage. Himachal Pradesh’s tourism industry faces its most severe challenge since the Covid lockdowns. Floods have brought its tourism industry to its knees. The haphazard and unsafe construction practices, mostly transposed from plains without factoring in the vulnerability of the hills, are creating havoc in the sensitive Himalayan States. In Uttarakhand, the Badrinath highway has developed massive cracks and sinks. Illegal mining is another rampant problem, aggravating the vulnerability of the hills. The Uttarakhand High Court has now ordered the government to curb mining activities in light of heavy damage caused to the bridges.

The perils of interfering with the fragile Himalayan ecology have manifested themselves in the most brutal of ways. The colossal loss is clear proof that the development model being followed obsessively in the region is flawed and ill-conceived. The havoc wreaked by landslides and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab has reached to such a level that it will take more than a year to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Mega infrastructure projects have been marketed as symbols of prosperity but the unscientific construction activity had the threat of destruction embedded in it. The frenzy to not lose out on the tourism moolah has led to illogical and unsustainable choices becoming commonplace. Unsound mountain cutting, soil vulnerability, dumping of debris in the rivers and unchecked illegal mining are being flagged, and rightly so, for being the key contributory factors to the man-made devastation. The building and maintenance of large hydroelectric dams can also have a significant environmental impact. Perpetual landslides, boulders tumbling down the highways, road cave-ins and buildings falling like a house of cards have become common features during the monsoon season. As climate change accelerates, the frequency and severity of such natural disasters are bound to rise. There is an urgent need to prioritise efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change including strengthening infrastructure, enhancing disaster preparedness and promoting sustainable land management practices.

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