The fading chill in the hills and possible implication.

My hometown is in hills, is where my home is, also where the past is.

What truly sets apart is, it's deep connection to the nature - hills & valleys, the wild flowers & birds, the clear streams & grass, made it a very health place to live in.

Beyond its breathtaking landscapes, the region has been a home to more than 70,000 small and marginal farmers.

Agriculture is passed down through generations with care and precision.

The people in the hills are responsible environmental Steward too.

Our land, our pride.

We live in harmony.

I, Ms. Sindhu hailing from small village in Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Currently I live in chennai 558kms away from my home town. To escape the heatwaves in summer people go to hill station and I am lucky I go to my home in the hills. Recently , when I visited my home town, the region spoke to me through the rising temperature. Outside, the dry air blew in my face, small streams ran dry and native plants are rarely seen simply couldn't withstand the extreme heat.

I born and brought up in a small village, tucked away in the hills of the Nilgiris. My village is small but orderly place. It is set in the middle of a lot of greenary. Almost all the village in Nilgiri hills were set in just the same picturesque surroundings. Most of our houses are similar in construction ( built in a row, sharing single wall, east facing , low roof) and proper shelter to withstand all the seasons. This time I entered the home it is very stuffy and my mom said they never experienced the rise in temperature before, it's difficult near hearth and heat extends beyond day time to the increasingly dangerous nights, water scarcity & climate stress. And in some homes they bought the electric fans which was not seen in hill homes before.

Also , I was shocked to see the green vegetables in our kitchen garden is not so green. Then my aunt told me that the pesticide sprays, environment residues and dust usually get removed by rain. Since there is no rain and delayed monsoon this year making it looks not so fresh. And she told it was tough to get water through irrigation because entire village use same borewell & everyone gets less turns to water their farms and yield is also less. It is also tough to prepare the drought soil for sowing and traditionally by May farming activities are in full swing, said my 98 years old grandmother who holding four generations together through farming.They are facing potential loss.

The climate change also made the challenges harder. Some of the women self help groups ( who are the silent change - makers , building steady rural income) shops loosing it's income due to failing crops and deficit summer rain.

In my village what is conspicuous is the fact that all the strenuous and hard work mostly done by the women. Crops has to sown and tended so that there is enough to store for the familys future use and a substantial quantity have to be kept aside as seeds to be sown during next season. Rotation of the crops was norm. Thus they lived, not complaining, accepting their lot as others before them had. Now the change in weather pattern affected their seasonal crops, sowing, harvesting, yield and saving for future.

The Land only seen landslides, heavy rainfall, floods experiencing the scarcity of rain. I am likely grappling with the fact that I can never truly go back in time, even if I physically return to the place I grew up. Something shifted not instantly but slowly.Gradually dimming of something once vivid.

Rural hill heat, deficit summer rain and delayed monsoon is raising serious concern yet receiving little public attention. Greater efforts are needed to create awareness and outreach programmes to help farmers and rural women's to understand seasonal weather trend and prepare accordingly.

Wanted policy makers to pay more attention to monsoon variability to take necessary action to manage water needs and irrigation.

The change in weather serve as a huge wake up call for policy makers, institutions, and communities to pay greater attention to save current and future generations.

Thinking about climate change can be overwhelming. We have been aware of its cause for decades now, and all around us, we bear witness to its devasting effect on our community and ecosystem.

The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls in rural area's face disproportionate impacts from climate change largely because they make up the majority of the world's poor , who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihoods.

Given their positions on the frontline of climate crisis, women are uniquely situated to be agents to change to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on its ground.

Three key reasons why empowering women and girls to climate change.

1. Women are environmental Steward.

2. Women are backbone of resilience.

3. Women are agents of change.

Its time to invest in women as a strong force for change , leading the way to more sustainable future. The sustainable future is also learning how to live safely, to process our losses, and even to thrive on an already changed planet.

Adaptation strategies can range far and wide, depending on the specific needs of the community. Enhancing the safety of workers grappling with extreme heat on the job, for example, will require widespread occupational heat standards. People facing increased wildfire risks should have access to air filters for their homes and public smoke shelters in their communities.Elected officials must also address our home insurance crisis and improve the voluntary buyout programs that help people move to higher ground. Governments need to start adaptation needs like these into policies, programs, and investments in order to create resilient communities in the midst of the climate crisis.

Thank you World Pulse for being a platform to voice the crisis.

Regards,

Sindhu.