Joshimath sinking: When will we start actually caring about climate change?

Humanity has – once again – come face-to-face with climate change in the North Indian hill town of Joshimath.

The town, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, is literally sinking and has been making headlines for the better part of this new year.

Actually, that needs some correction. Yes, Joshimath is sinking. Yes, it has been in the headlines for the last couple of weeks. However, it’s not the whole human kind but only Joshimath’s residents who have come face-to-face with climate change.

In Joshimath, deforestation, erosion and an increase in ice melt from the higher reaches of the Himalayas have come together to create an unstable foundation under the hill city. There are other factors – such as rampant construction – that play a role as well, but Joshimath’s precarious situation has climate change written all over it.

Those reading the headlines about Joshimath are far removed from the reality of the place. Joshimath is just another topic of dinner table conversations and office water cooler chats. There is wonderment: How can an entire town be on the verge of collapsing under its own weight? There is the expected cycle of ‘I told you so’ statements from experts. And, to be fair, there is focus on how rampant construction over the years in this ecologically sensitive town has brought it to its knees.

But, will all that focus and expert commentary and water cooler chatter translate into a deep rethinking of how Joshimath is planned and what can be done to save it? That remains to be seen.

Joshimath is making headlines the way Assam makes headlines every year for flooding or North India for its severe heat and cold waves, both of which are annual affairs, or, for that matter, US’s California for its wildfires.

Like Assam floods, Delhi’s heat (or cold), and California’s fires, Joshimath too risks slipping out of the news cycle once some residents have been evacuated (which is of priority right now) only to perhaps be back in the headlines if the town slips under a few more metres.

WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE?
Why this apathy? Because most of us, while accepting that climate change is real, can’t seem to wrap our heads around the concept. We have an idea about what it could lead to: Extreme weather that is unbearable after a point, cities that may be reclaimed by oceans full of melted glaciers, unhealthy air that can cause life-threatening diseases, a lack of water fit enough to drink… essentially an Earth where it becomes difficult to eat, drink, or breathe.

And, we also have an idea about what has led to this: Decades of human activities such as cutting down forests for our habitation, burning coal to fuel our energy needs, dumping waste out in the oceans, rampant and unchecked construction and drilling… essentially a way of operating on and interacting with Earth without any regard for its ability to support it.