Delhi:
Delhi-born photographer, Ishan Tankar, talks about this summer's unbearable heatwave in New Delhi and the delayed monsoon rains. As a photographer for a Delhi-based magazine, he notes that increasingly his assignments are focused on the impacts of climate change throughout India.
For Delhi, it was quite simple - without the monsoon rains electricity could not be generated. For a city suffering under a 45 degree heat wave, people were forced to sleep in their cars to keep cool, suffer daily power cuts and queue up for water, all of which eventually led to riots in the streets.
It became evident that no matter who you were, you felt the effects of this extreme weather.
California:
Thom porter is a Fire Chief for CAL FIRE, the Californian state fire department. With 20 years experience fighting fires and an academic background in forestry, Thom has noticed changes over the years in both the weather and vegetation fire patterns in California.
With temperatures getting even hotter and drier, earlier snowmelts and increased storm weather, an already vulnerable landscape is becoming even more prone to fires. This year alone saw the outbreak of the devastating Station fire in Los Angeles, which saw 160,000 acres of land burn, and 10,000 homes evacuated before the fire season had even officially begun.
While fires have always happened in California and there are many ways a fire can start, it is the growing frequency and intensity that is of great concern, especially for densely populated areas like Los Angeles.
Sydney:
Amanda McKenzie is 26 and the Co-Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Born and raised in Australia, Amanda has seen first-hand the effects of climate change in Sydney, including this year's drought. The 2009 drought is commonly described as the worst in 1000 years.
This summer saw continued water shortages in Sydney resulting in strict water restrictions being placed on residents. Further evidence of the drought was seen when a dust storm swept over Sydney, coating the city in a thick yellow haze. Drought conditions had loosened the top soil in the outback areas of Australia and strong winds had blown it all the way to Sydney.
Sydney is one of the world's most sought-after cities to live in. Some predictions say that if we don't stop climate change now, by as soon as 2070 it will become a very different and far from desirable place to live.
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