A few days ago, I had a heated debate with an acquaintance, about the increasing impact of climate change and its effect on global biodiversity. I tried to reason with him that living in denial about climate change is not going to safeguard anybody from the wrath and losses caused by natural disasters, such as floods, drought, cyclones and typhoons."

Last week, I wrote about the cyclonic winds and rains that lashed the north-eastern frontier of India and the havoc those floods wreaked in the lives of people. Meanwhile, news channels have already begun flashing the record 48.5°C temperatures on the borders of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. There are reports of bleaching of coral reefs and mass death of fish coming in from the Lakshadweep archipelago and Malvan coast, respectively, due to surface water temperatures exceeding 34°C. Unseasonal outbreak of conjunctivitis, swine flu and measles; repeated incidences of dengue and malaria, and children and the elderly suffering from chronic lung disorders — these too, are outcomes of the changing climate scenario.