As you talk to friends in different parts of the world, or even across India, or check their social media photographs, with varied expressions in fashion and food, you realise a slightly more holistic impact of global warming. Winters are getting colder (in some parts), warmer (in many more parts), and more uniformly across the world, confusing.
For the luckier ones, the impact is often limited, and can be dealt with by making changes in choices — as the weather gets drier, we plant humidifiers in our rooms, turn up the air-conditioner, or lower it, and shop for clothes as per the weather online which we get delivered to our doorstep.
For millions, however, the impact is far more severe. It threatens livelihoods, and questions of survival arise frequently, with seasonal diseases and healthcare concerns precipitating bankruptcy or a debt trap, or yet another forced migration in the quest of minimum wage.
If those who are relatively immune to the direct impact of climate change are fortunate, those who are able to enjoy the cold weather during these months designated as winter are luckier.
For them, in some cities and regions across India, life is enriched by the warmth of good food, houses and good Internet connectivity that bring alive the romance of late night binge watching the best entertainment from across the globe aside from the live telecast of World Cup soccer matches.
If we are amongst the luckiest such, let us feel some gratitude for the warmth and joy in our lives, the pleasure and comfort millions can’t afford or find without being any less deserving. For this section, the winters and its cold is truly a blessing. We hope you are in their midst… and may this tribe increase.
