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What does a tropical country have to do with the polar ice caps? India, with its erratic seasons, heatwaves touching a scorching 50°C and its warm waters seems to have little in common with the Arctic.
And yet, after learning that India is about to launch an Arctic policy that will shape its presence in the North, I was intrigued to discover that the relationship between the two regions is rich and complex.
Vijay Sakhuja, a pioneer of Arctic studies in India who spent 26 years in the Navy while pursuing academic studies says that India and the Arctic face similar challenges due to climate change, but more importantly their struggles are connected.
“When I sat back and looked at a map of the globe, I realised there is a direct line, almost a straight flight, which runs from the north pole to the Himalayan mountains,” he says. “If the Arctic winds are warmer, or just not cold enough, then they would impact the Himalayas too.”
A warmer polar circle, he explains, will affect temperatures in Siberia and in turn the Chinese side of the Himalayas, the mountain range also known as the Third Pole. This is something we don’t talk about enough, he says, but the impacts of a warming Arctic are far reaching - they touch Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, even Myanmar - and affect communities across all regions, particularly indigenous people.
India’s Arctic policy is a hefty document that includes a vast range of topics, from business opportunities opening up as ice retreats to scientific research on climate change. While this may seem rife with contradictions, the policy does lean more towards the science side than towards exploitation, Sakhuja notes. And more importantly, he says, it doesn’t leave indigenous people behind, like many economic development plans do.
Both the Arctic’s indigenous inhabitants and the Himalyan peoples are being “inexorably” impacted by climate change as well as by industrial development and improved connectivity, the policy says. “The disruption of unique ecosystems and erosion of traditional knowledge are common to both.” And with its substantial expertise in addressing such issues, the document adds, India is uniquely placed to make a positive contribution in assisting the Arctic’s indigenous communities cope with similar challenges.
Parallel challenges
In different ways, both India and the Arctic are among the most vulnerable places on the planet. Both are disproportionately affected by rising temperatures which threaten their biodiversity and the way of life of their communities.
In India, climate change is changing the monsoon cycles, so farmers can’t adjust to seasons that are too warm, too wet, or too dry. Take the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where I spent a few weeks last summer. Here, apples are found everywhere. Not just in the orchards, protected by a thin mesh which from a distance looks like morning dew, but also along the roads, stored in cardboard boxes stacked in trucks too big for the narrow mountain roads, before starting their journey across the Indian subcontinent. They are used to make wine and jam, they are gifted to tourists. They too are threatened by climate change.
India is the world’s fifth producer of apples, and because winters are not cold enough, harvests are getting scarcer, threatening the local economy and way of life. Visiting Himachal and seeing how a simple fruit shapes the identity of a place has helped me grasp the extent of this subtle yet monumental threat all around the people living here.
Sakhuja assures me that the same goes for the Arctic region: you have to be there to understand. Thousands of miles away from India, the Arctic is melting fast. As the ice becomes thinner and more brittle, ancient lands are being exposed to new forms of resource exploitation, such as mining, or to the development of new infrastructure such as ports, railway and airports. Traffic through new northern routes is projected to quadruple by 2025, with more fuel burned, more pristine environments spoilt by industries and human settlement, and more local communities affected by these changes.
Sakhuja remembers the first time he felt a deep connection to the Arctic, after studying it for many years as a theoretical subject. He was in Tromsø, in Norway, and decided to take a stroll on a frozen lake. As mundane as that scene may have looked, Sakhuja says that from that moment on he could never forget what was at stake for the Arctic, all that the region stands to lose.
Over many years of work in both regions, Sakhuja says, “I realised that there is a kinship between indigenous people living in the Nordic countries, and our people who live in the mountains.” There is a connection, he says, in terms of ecosystems, lifestyle and the struggle to preserve the unspoilt environment that has sustained both communities for millennia.
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Must reads from the region
India’s Biggest Spenders Cause 7 Times More Emissions Than The Poor, Manu Moudgil, Indiaspend
The top 20% of high-expenditure households in India are responsible for seven times the emissions traceable to the poor who spend less than $1.9 a day, according to a recent study. The mean carbon footprint of every Indian was estimated at 0.56 tonne per year--0.19 tonne per capita among the poor and 1.32 tonne among the rich.
Could climate adaptive, saline water-resistant Pokkali be rice of the future?, KA Shaji, Mongabay India
When Super Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal, rice fields were among the casualties. Contaminated with saltwater, the crops withered away. Researchers decided to seek rice varieties that could withstand a similar disaster, something that climate change makes increasingly likely. This piece follows their journey.
Safe water costs 40 times more in coastal Bangladesh than cities, Riyan Talha,The Third Pole
In coastal Bangladesh, sea level rise and the consequent intrusion of saline water means that access to drinking water is declining, leaving citizens poorer. But a new business is emerging: potable water is now sold on the streets at a huge markup.
2020: China’s climate breakthrough year, Wu Yixiu, China Dialogue
Despite the pandemic – and to some extent because of it – last year proved more positive for China’s climate response than many had predicted.
What else I’ve been reading
India coronavirus: How do you vaccinate a billion people?, Soutik Biswas, BBC News
When it comes to vaccine making, India is a powerhouse. It runs a massive immunisation programme, makes 60% of the world's vaccines and is home to half a dozen major manufacturers. And this year, India plans to receive and utilise some 500 million doses of vaccines against the disease and immunise up to 250 million people.
Who we are
From A Climate Correspondent is a weekly newsletter run by four journalists exploring the climate crisis from around the globe. We regularly also feature guest writers.
Lou Del Bello is an energy and climate journalist based in Delhi, India.
Jocelyn Timperley is a climate journalist based in San José, Costa Rica.
India Bourke is an environment journalist based in London, UK.
Mat Hope is investigative journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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