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Global warming has been a pressing issue in the past few decades, the scientists have been crystal clear on where we are heading from the very beginning. They've warned us about the catastrophic consequences that are going to take place if world leaders don't take appropriate action. But the world has been so blinded by the illusion of development and power that they didn't care as much as they should have. The initial target was to keep the climate within 1.5° C increase to the preindustrial levels, but as time went on, that goal became unrealistic. 

At the start of June this year, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union predicted that by the next five years, the temperatures would go to a record-breaking level, but even they didn't think that this would be so soon, as it was this year. Dr. Samantha Burgess, deputy director at C3S, said, "These are the hottest temperatures in human history" when talking about the recent temperatures. This past July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth since the actual temperature data goes back to 1940 when the data had been on record. But from the prehistoric archeological and paleontological records, a lot of scientists are saying it is likely the hottest in about 120,000 years. So, in human history, the temperature has never been higher. 

The scary part is that the trend so far has no indication of going downwards; WMO predicts that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record. "It is scary to remember that in another decade, this will be viewed as a relatively cool year, most likely," said Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University. As much alarming as it is that this is the warmest year, we should be prepared for even hotter temperatures, which would result in more illness, hospitalization, and deaths related to higher temperatures. The healthcare infrastructure should be prepared for things like this; both urban and rural areas need proper shading for the people who live their day-to-day lives on the street, be it a hawker or rickshaw puller. These people often times don't have any other option but to work under the scorching sun and at most times unaware of these climate related issues, as much as they are being discussed on the big stages. 

What does it mean for the future of energy and infrastructure? Ever since the late 80's scientists have been very vocal about what the implications of dependency on fossil fuels would be; those predictions are now coming into reality as the record-breaking levels of temperature are seen all over the globe. The wildlife in certain areas has had a significant impact on their ecosystem because of the heat; the world has already gone to a point of no return in terms of warming, and now is the time for damage control. The dependency on a certain lifestyle because of the use of energy is not reversible, but we need to make sure that the energy that is being produced is clean and sustainable in the long term. As important as it is to build infrastructure all across the lesser developed parts of the world, the focus needs to be on the harmony within the ecosystem that already exists. Sustainability, as much as it has become a buzzword for international bodies, is not being practiced in reality.

The problem can no longer be just confined to the planting of trees, carbon taxes, and uses of less polluting methods of transportation and production need to be implemented as soon as possible. The outcomes of the climate crisis are now at our doorsteps, frequent climate related disasters are everyday news now. The need for collaboration to fight this crisis is more important now than ever, the climate crisis needs to be on the forefront of all the discussions globally. Every profession from all the specialty and discipline need to come together to fight the issues relating to every aspect of climate change. It has never been just a climatology problem that a few scientists need to figure out, it is an overall crisis for the entire world and everyone needs to put their heads together to come to aid, for the sake of humanity.

Kazi Shams Mohsin Rhid, a research intern at Centre for Governance Studies