Mass floods displace three million in India

The Brahmaputra river burst its banks, submerging the north and north-eastern regions of India. Nepal and Bangladesh have been severely affected too.

The center of attention has fallen on Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

Mumbai recorded its highest rainfall in 14 years. Cars have submerged underwater and life has come to a standstill.

According to the BBC, India has not only witnessed unusually high rainfall this year, but it has also witnessed a simultaneous rise in both heatwaves and cold waves.

Heatwaves have increased 10-fold, while cold waves have increased 20-fold. The reason behind this has to do with climate change.

India is the third-worst polluter in the world, followed by the U.S. and China at the top. India is a rapidly developing economy with a massive population. Green energy comes at a price, and it’s a price most poor people cannot afford.

The country took half-hearted measures in the recent budget buy providing limited subsidies on electric vehicles. However, the problem is much bigger and requires bolder moves.

Under the current right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, environmental regulations have torn to pieces. If anything, this makes India worse off in dealing with the environment.

At the same time, India is investing in solar and nuclear energy.

The effects, however, are being born by the people. An unclear environmental agenda, with poor urban planning in Indian cities, has aggravated these natural disasters.

The monsoon season lasts from June to September and unleashes its fury across South Asia every year.

More than 1,200 people died in storms and landslides last year when India’s Kerala faced its worst floods in nearly a century.