The Climate Crisis is Here
Lake Naivasha, about 90 minutes from Nairobi, where flooding has made the water levels, killing many trees and important animal habitats.
We heard it over and over again in Kerala: “This heat is not normal.” We’ve been hearing it over and over again in Nairobi: “We’ve never seen flooding like this before.”
One of the reasons we decided to leave for this journey in 2024 was because it felt like the world is full of so many unknowns in our future, and the climate crisis is only speeding up. And we’ve long talked about how historically marginalized communities will be hit first and hardest by the changing climate, but to experience that right now in the midst of our travels is such a reality check.
If it gets too hot in a place like Kerala (and now news of the same in Delhi), those without access to air conditioning never get to cool down their bodies as the temperature remains over 105F every day and night. So much of the economy is based on agriculture, and services like autorickshaws or small roadside shops. My heart is with those folks working outside, and if you add other factors like age or medical conditions, the fears around that person’s ability to withstand heat increase so quickly.
In Nairobi, nearly all of the hardest hit communities from the flooding this spring are the impoverished slums, which, of course are the less desirable low lying neighborhoods in the city. Historically, these areas were undesirable by the European colonisers, and set aside as property for the shantytowns of the working class Kenyans. So those who have been systematically set up to face the greatest hardship have now lost everything, including loved ones.
I am just grappling with the fact that our fears around climate change remained in this theoretical space of a warming planet and rising seas and greater storms, yet there’s no room for theory here. Our travels have made clear the impact of this climate age on more vulnerable populations .
When we get home, it will be so easy to fall back into our old way of life, where the climate crisis is more of a theoretical nightmare than a daily reality. But as a whole, the human population is grappling with climate change every minute. I’m hoping my friends and family hold me to this commitment of taking action in any way possible before there’s no action left to take.
