Even when people of Kerala continue to be haunted by the miseries of devastating floods that hit the State six months ago, the current rise in temperature has thrown the State into the frying pan of summer heat.
At all places where four Malayalis come together, the topic of discussion is sweltering heat. All rivers that flowed in full spate during Onam, have now almost dried up. Even places where there have been plenty of water have started feeling the pinch of summer heat to be followed by drought.
Not only humans, plants, pet animals, birds and other animals are also reeling under summer heat. The temperature is expected to soar in the coming days, according to the Met department.
The Met and health department have issued guidelines regarding sunstrokes, intake of water, cleanliness and time during the day when labourers should keep indoors.
Nevertheless, there are lakhs of people who go out for work, whether it is rain or shine. It is said that the reason for rise in temperature is climate change. Compared with last year, summer is unbearable even in usually pleasant Thiruvananthapuram, let alone Palakkad, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode.
If the temperature surpasses 40 degree Celsius, there are chances for sun strokes. People have also started experiencing the shortage of drinking water.
Every summer season people are paying the price for not protecting water resources over the past several years. The poor state of dams, rivers and reservoirs reminds one of the importance of conservation of water.
The government is yet to learn lessons from flood and scorching summer. The flaw in drinking water projects has created a situation in which many parts of the State are yet to get drinking water connection. Even today, completion of many of such projects is a challenge.
The government should take urgent measures to supply water in areas where there is water scarcity.
Take any summer season, presence of very little water at the bottom of dams has been a common phenomenon over the past several years.
Even during rainy season, dams turn out to be futile structures as its capacity has been reduced due to encroachment of the dam area, caving in of its boundaries and dumping of waste materials into the river.
Summer season is the apt time to start the maintenance work of dams. Removal of sediments of sand and slush in dams will increase their capacity and this will also be an advantage to the public exchequer.
This will also be a boost to the construction sector, which is finding it difficult to get sand for construction. The cash-strapped State can also convert each dam into a milch kamadenu. But the government has not been able utilise the sands in dams. All dams will also overflow if the monsoon climate intensifies.
To some extent, there has been allegation that the flood during Onam was man-made. Similarly, it can’t be forgotten that there is also a human touch to the unbearable heat now.
When the exploitation of nature breaches all limits, people will have to see and experience many things that unusual to their times.