Currently there is drastically contrasting weather of hot and cold during daytime and at night, respectively. This period which belongs to the Spring season has been taken away by Summer and Winter seasons. As per the Hindu calendar, the Spring season here spans from Magha to Phalguna which according to the Gregorian calendar, is the second half of February and lasts until first half of March and April. With the arrival of Spring, temperature starts to become cosy and warm, trees start to bear fresh leaves, mango trees begin to flower and the fields turn yellow with the mustard flowers.
Spring is considered to be the king of the seasons as it bestows fresh life and good health to the trees. The season is the best for flowers to bloom as they attract honey bees and butterflies to collect the nectar. A cool wave of breeze flows from the South helping to spread the fragrance of flowers even further. All in all, Spring is a pleasant season for all the living beings – be it humans, trees, plants, flowers, birds or animals. Spring is balanced not only in terms of climate but also in terms of days and nights which are almost the same in their duration. There is extreme cold in winter, extreme heat in summer while wet mud during monsoons. Since spring is replaced directly by summer, epidemic diseases are on rampant rise. The symptoms of bacterial infections, lack of energy, skin infections, fungal infections, shortness of breath, skin turning blue due to less oxygen, cough, exhaustion have become a norm these days. This indicates that summer has almost entirely wiped out the pleasant season of spring.
February is a spring month but most of the areas have already started to witness the extreme heat right after the winter. The anti-cyclonic circulation and cloudless skies have raised the temperature all of a sudden. Western winds over the sea start blowing in a delayed manner as Eastern wind blows till afternoon. Sea breeze helps to reduce the temperature in the coastal region. The difference between temperatures during day and at night have started to increase. This will potentially cause a heat wave in the month of March. Many are currently facing the trouble of persistent cough. It is not safe to abruptly turn on the air conditioner or to eat ice-cream just because one is feeling hot. Majority of the people are habituated to drinking refrigerated water during summer which can cause sore throat. Cold water stimulates production of mucus in the nose which serves as a line of defence in the trachea. When this mucus line freezes, it causes trouble in breathing. It makes the respiratory tract unsafe leading to a sore throat. With summer already making its presence felt in the middle of February, there is a possibility of monsoon preponing its arrival as well. Since monsoon showers continued well into the winter season last year, there was a running joke of calling the season as ‘wintery monsoon’. In case it starts to rain during summer, it will be difficult to predict how the showers are going to be during the monsoon. The causality that this is a result of climate change is being made across various platforms. In our country, even a special ministry has been established for the same. The average rate of Earth’s rising temperature is 0.08 celsius per decade, a figure from 1880. However, the rate in the last four decades has reached to 0.18 celsius per decade. The effects of rise in temperature will be different for each territory which means the maximum and minimum temperatures will differ for everyone. The melting of snow due to rise in temperature will elevate the seawater level or the inconsistency in the monsoon showers will affect the farmers, etc. People worldwide experience temperatures ranging from – 50 celsius to 50 celsius. However, nature has enormous strength to take care and to revive itself, a quality humans can never possess. Let us hope that common sense prevails in humans before having to pay a high price.
