With the Celsius soaring, it is getting extremely uncomfortable working outdoors under the scorching sun. Well, “uncomfortable” might be an understatement, as I gather from the news that people are dying from heat stroke in the hotter parts of the country.

Other than heat-related health issues, there was also a study published in the journal GeoHealth, stating that extreme climate change has a vital role to play in the outbreak of COVID19 variants in India, where the majority of the cases are clustered in regions where people have to endure extreme heat.

But this is not new. Even last year, we had to bear a long span of heat waves starting end-March. I read that last April was the hottest in Northwest India in 122 years. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and the other states were no less. From the reports that were published after last summer, the preceding eight years were the warmest eight years and June 2022 was the warmest June on land since records began in the mid-1800s.

The question that arises today is if 2023 will break all records.

Experts and common sense say that global warming backed by greenhouse gas emissions is resulting in the intensity and frequency of heat waves. However, the question that we all face today is what we are doing about it. A bigger question is if we know what needs to be done.

Many people blame urbanization as the main cause of our depleting green cover. We need to plant more trees and if we join hands with the cause it will be the best thing to do. But the question that always rises in my mind is the awareness that our air-conditioning also has a similar or maybe bigger effect.

Even if I accept that air-conditioning is becoming an integral part of urban living, we need to be aware of how we can do so in a responsible manner. Back in 2020, the government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency mandated that all room air conditioners have a default temperature Setting of 24 degrees Celsius, which means that we need to manually change the settings if we need a lower temperature. This increase from the conventional 18-21 degrees will cut electricity consumption, which also will have an impact on climate change.

Countries such as Japan and the US have already implemented such regulations. Japan has a default setting of 28 degrees Celsius and in the US some states have enforced limits against lowering the temperature below 26.

All that I am trying to point out through this example is that our efforts need to be holistic throughout the year. Complaining only when the temperature rises and acting only during those days may not bring much of a result.

I end this blog with hopes that the first rain will cool us and that summer will go back to being an enjoyable season.