The whole of Nepal, and particularly Madhes, is virtually up in flames these days. A few days back, Nawalparasi east, Saptari and Bajura reported two incidents of blaze. Other districts such as Panchthar, Bhojpur, Chitwan, Udayapur, Makwanpur, Baglung, Kathmandu and Kapilvastu were also engulfed by infernos. On the same day, a wildfire turned into ash a lush green forest located in Rasuwa district after it turned dry by hot weather prevailing since quite a few days now.
A fleeting glimpse of the past will reveal how Nepal has been a hunting ground for fires and their twin brother wildfires like two tigers hunting in pairs or like two fast bowlers Sompal Kami and Rajan KC bowling in Nepali cricket.
This horrific dual dance has resulted in the demise of 84 people – 81 people by fires and 3 from a wildfire – since the first of Baisakh till now. The number of fire and wildfire incidents were a whopping 2051 and 67 respectively.
What is worse is that the wildfire in particular provides a fertile breeding ground for pollution, which can be very dangerous for health. Who knows Nepal may be heading for yet another chain of events like last year when the government had to inform the people to remain indoors due to heavy pollution unless an emergency situation knocked on the door.
This appears to be very much on the radar screen if the recent report of the International Panel for Climate Change is to be believed, which one should be in view of its prophecies coming true in the past. It has called a spade a spade by declaring that it is code red for the planet.
The report has reiterated that the situation is spiralling out of control, leading to the occurrence of intense weather events. It means that floods and landslides will envelope Nepal as it did last year.
There are quite a few takeaways from the report.
Firstly, the greenhouse gases need to be reduced today and should not wait till tomorrow as the 10-headed Ravana had preached to Laxman on his deathbed.
But the wildfire only increases them at an exponential pace.
Secondly, cities like Kathmandu are going to be the hot spots. Thirdly, the poor people will be at the receiving end of the adverse impacts of climate change despite their zero contribution to carbon emission.
The fires also have been found to be hard hitting for the poor as they turn into ashes whatever little they possess.
Fourthly, climate change disasters, such as floods and landslides, will push the people to the cities from the villages, triggering a high amplitude wave of migration in search of employment.
The congestion in the already crowded cities will only add to their existing woe.
The worldwide coronavirus came in the way of whatever little attempts were underway to counter the adverse effects of climate change. As if it was not enough, the fight between Russia and Ukraine is threatening to snowball into yet another deadly world war. If that happens, the planet will land on the deathbed due to climate change worsening rapidly.
This does not mean that there is no silver lining on the edge of the cloud or that there is no light on the other side of the tunnel.
The thatched roof which adds fuel to the fire can be made fire-resistant at a small cost by putting half an inch of mud plaster covered with silpauline plastic sheet.
This simple technology puts to rest convective currents, thereby extinguishing what could be a deadly fire. This technology drew the attention of 70 of 77 Chief District Officers last month at the request of the home minister.
But like the proverbial chameleon, which promises every cold night to fell wood as soon as the sun rises and have a camp fire the following evening but ends up basking in the sun, thereby falling victim to the shivering cold as ever, we also make pledges but end up celebrating all festivals like Dashain and Tihar.
What results is then the annual cycle of destruction by the all too familiar disasters.
Wildfires also can be tamed only if we follow the age-old practice of constructing ponds, in the form of the pukhu, which we see aplenty in Kathmandu, pokhari in Madhes and ahals in the hills and mountains from little below the mountain tops on either side of the gullies or natural rain water channels.
The ponds not only bring down the temperature but also push the humidity up, stifling the wildfire from spreading. In this connection, 101 ponds in Kalapani and Mahottari and 75 in Kharpa and Khotang have already been constructed with the assistance of the Rotary Club and Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. But this campaign has been halted when it should have been taken forward.
These ponds prevent floods and landslides from occurring due to significant amounts of water stored up in the mountains instead of gushing at high speed to the foothills from the mountain tops. They dissolve the carbon dioxide in the air, which is said to have reached a deadly high of 412 parts per million (ppm) and sink it below the ground using the free force of gravity.
The wild animals merrily consume drinking water and lush green vegetation in the forest instead of descending to the settlements and cause harm to human beings.
Lightning also falls on the wet forest rather than striking the comparatively dry settlements.
Our forefathers have left us a gem in the construction of ponds for addressing all the major disasters that we are facing today. In the West and Japan, they are used as flood detention ponds and giant cisterns in the flood vulnerable areas.
We should also make use of these cost-effective technologies to tame this multi-headed chimaera-like disaster that cripples our country every year.
Our forefathers have left us a gem in the construction of ponds for addressing all the major disasters that we are facing today.
In the West and Japan, they are used as flood detention ponds and giant cisterns in the flood vulnerable areas. We should also make use of these cost-effective technologies
A version of this article appears in the print on March 15, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
