In recent years, erratic weather conditions caused by climate change have affected our society and will continue to have harsher effects in the future. Today, the physical and chemical changes caused by human activities are being felt in our natural ecosystems. Like in other parts of India, the impact of climate change has been taking a toll on farmers in Manipur.
A few years ago, when interacting with farmers in Kakching, located in the southeastern part of Manipur, they proudly asserted that Kakching was the “sugar bowl of Manipur”. Then, sugarcane was cultivated in almost all low-lying foothill areas of the district. But now, nearly 95 per cent of such sugarcane plantations have stopped. When I asked one of the sugarcane growers, he said that scanty rainfall forced them to stop sugarcane farming. Sugarcane contains 90 per cent water. It needs good rains. The farmer said that an acre of land could earlier produce about 70-80 tins of chuhi (condensed sugarcane juice), but now, even with maximum efforts, they could get only about 20-25 tins of the cane juice. Hence, the farmers have discontinued sugarcane plantation.
When asked about other alternative crops, the cultivator said that they were left with no hope but to wait for good rains. He said he tried farming other crops, but the crops could not grow owing to poor rainfall. Such environmental impacts have changed their entire income source and societal setup. In the wake of it, they were compelled to call back their school or college-going children and urge them to find jobs.
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The same is the fate of the once proud orange farmers of Tamenglong district, west of Manipur. According to an orange grower, the orange trees were affected by plant diseases, such as stem borer, root rot, and leaf curling. The number of oranges per tree has reduced, and their sizes are now smaller. Hence, the orange farmers have been farming other fruit crops.
In Kashai village of Ukhrul district, a lemon grower said that in the past years, the trees were healthy and the lemons were juicier and bigger. But now, due to the changing climatic conditions, the size of lemons has reduced. He said that lemon growers also face the challenging problem of the trees being attacked by insects like the stem borer and leaf cutters.
Heiribob (Citrus hystrix) growers of Khongkhang and other nearby villages in Tengnoupal district also faced similar problems caused by the changing climatic conditions.
Such is the fate of farmers in Thanga and Karang as well. Earlier, a family in this small island village in the Loktak Lake could catch as many fish for their livelihood. But now, they can’t procure that many fish anymore. Due to many changes in the water quality of Loktak Lake, the number of fish and species has been reduced, causing hardships to all villagers, who are settled near the lake in search of livelihood.
The frequency of extreme weather events is increasing. Hot days are becoming even hotter and more frequent. Drought, heavy rain, and hailstorms are occurring more often. This year, the state received good rainfall, but we can’t predict for the booting stage of paddies. It is uncertain whether heavy rains will continue through the harvest season.
In the global scenario, El-Nino events are becoming common. Everywhere, there are problems of scanty rainfall. But more rains are reported in Atacama, the world’s driest place. The poles are getting warmer, reaching up to 18.3°C. Because the cyclones draw their strength from the heat of ocean water, a warmer climate means stronger cyclones.
As climate change causes the ocean to rise, increased atmospheric CO₂ changes ocean acidity, which changes our climatic conditions. These changes harm the marine ecosystems. They destroy coral reefs and planktons that produce 60 per cent of all oxygen on earth.
Changes in rainfall and temperature will force plants and animals to migrate, and the rate of extinctions will increase globally to one species per 20 minutes. Already, changes can be seen. Plants are now sprouting, flowering, and losing their leaves at different seasons, posing a challenge to human survival.
Climate change has induced changes in the timing of flowering of many plants, thereby threatening the failure in pollination and endangering the species. Owing to frequent droughts, farmers are turning to alternative crops, and farmlands are becoming unusable. Every cultivator expects a good harvest, but climate change dampens the hope. As climate change causes plants and animals to relocate, pandemics like Ebola, Covid-19, swine flu, bird flu, etc., have threatened the world.
As predicted, climate change will affect the security of nations as conflicts brew over competition for water, food, and land. Therefore, the need of the hour for the country is to mitigate the impact of climate change. This fiscal, the budget for the Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ministry is ₹3,413 crore with ₹287 crore or nine per cent more than the previous year, with eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Unrelenting efforts are imperative to address India’s worsening pollution and vulnerability to climate change.
(The author is an environmentalist, presently working as DFO/Chandel, Manipur. He can be reached at nmunall@yahoo.in)
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