1.What did you learnt from Australian Bush fire.
Answers
Answer:
Let me start by putting Australian bush fires into perspective. The 2019 Amazon rainforest fires burned more than 900,000 hectares. California in the USA lost 100,000 hectares in 2019 to fires. Australian bushfire has already burnt over 6 million hectares, which is almost twice the size of Bhutan, and there are still no signs of fires slowing down.
Scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate will contribute to fires becoming frequent and more intense. Australian bush fires, Amazon forest fires, and California fires may be treated as a strong message on what’s in store for us in Bhutan with the present climate change scenario.
Himalaya is at the forefront of climate change and Bhutan cannot afford to silently watch what’s happening elsewhere. We have become vulnerable to many aftermaths of climate change and the noticeable change is how our monsoon is increasingly becoming unpredictable.
Bhutan should seriously consider investing in localized state-of-the-art research to understand the changing dynamics and invest in having a road map should such a disaster strike. We don’t have the luxury of resources, so it will only be beneficial if our National Assembly and National Council could witness debates in such front rather than ‘protocols’ and mu-slinging.