Climate in Crisis: Mother Nature’s Urgent Warnings and Escalating Disasters, Part 5 of a Multi-part Series

Humanity has entered dangerous new territory. The unprecedented heat has helped fuel disasters around the world. And still, temperatures continue to rise. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that July 2024 was the hottest ever recorded and was the 14th consecutive month in which a global heat record had been set. In June 2024, an immense heat dome covered most of the USA, with temperatures reaching 11-16.5 degrees Celsius, higher than usual. More than 270 million people were affected by the extreme temperatures. One such devastating wildfire occurred in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The resulting massive inferno killed two people, destroyed 1,400 homes and structures, and forced the town’s 8,000 residents to evacuate. In Asia, many countries, including India and Pakistan, have experienced record-breaking temperatures. Temperatures in the Indian capital, Delhi, reached an all-time high of 52.3 degrees Celsius. Experts attribute these extreme weather events to human-made climate change.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), extreme heat was linked to more than 2,300 deaths in 2023. “Scientists now say that adaptation alone is not the answer. And unless the industrialized world stops or drastically reduces the global greenhouse gas emissions, these kinds of severe weather events will not be stopped. So, the key is that the world has to take climate emergency seriously and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Our Most Courageous Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) has frequently reminded us that there is only one solution: a global shift to the vegan lifestyle. “[…] in the last few years, many, many unprecedented heat waves, they killed people. […] It’s already raised one degree or one and a half degrees. And it’s already like that. Imagine if two degrees more, three degrees, four, five, oh, we are finito (finished)! If any parents really love their children and their grandchildren, they should be vegan by now. That’s the fastest way.”