This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
As I write this, the first week of December has been marked by unrelenting rains that have left a trail of destruction in their wake. The season, which is usually a time of joy and celebration, has been marred by the loss of life, displacement of people, and destruction of property.
The devastation is not limited to the usual areas prone to flooding. The Mount Elgon landslides, for example, have been equally deadly on both the Ugandan and Kenyan sides. I was shocked to hear that people were stranded on the Tana River as far upstream as Makueni. The riverine communities in Hola, on the coastal banks of the Tana, are also likely to be affected.
But the effects of this latest bout of wet weather are more far-reaching than we might realize. The traditional season of migration to 'home square' has been disrupted, and getting home, especially off the main road, can be a daunting task. Many bridges and stream-crossing improvisations have been washed away, making it difficult for people to access their villages, even by boda boda.
Climate experts have warned that these extreme weather events are 'unprecedented', and the 'severest in living memory' or the 'worst on record'. The writing is on the wall, and it's time for us to take action. We are an endangered species, and if we don't learn to read and act on the signs of the times, we risk extinction.
But there is hope. If we are the most intelligent and resilient species that has ever existed on the planet, as we claim to be, we just cannot sit around and let ourselves sink into extinction without lifting a finger. We need to take drastic action to reduce our carbon emissions, protect our environment, and preserve our planet for future generations.
As Greta Thunberg so eloquently put it, 'You are talking about your economies. We are talking about our existence.' It's time for us to take responsibility for our actions and work towards a sustainable future.
So, let's not surrender to 'SAD'. Let's join the environmental struggle with simple but important actions, like avoiding littering, keeping our homes spotlessly clean, and making music rather than noise with our sound apps. We can make a difference, and it starts with us.
