Extreme weather events are human induced
Yes
Heat balance
Excessive emission of gases like carbon dioxide and methane intensifies the greenhouse effect, trapping heat in the atmosphere. This leads to a global temperature rise, which disrupts natural climate systems. As a result, we witness stronger cyclones, prolonged droughts, flash floods and deadly heatwaves. Polar ice melt and rising sea levels further prove how human activity has destabilised Earth’s climate equilibrium.
Jeannie Bakshi
Class XII, MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School, Calcutta
Fact, not fiction
The scientific consensus, as documented by organisations like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), confirms that human-caused climate disruption is already influencing weather extremes across the globe.
Saumili Mukherjji
First year, English, Loreto College, Calcutta
Butterfly effect
Unbridled industrialisation, consumerism, carbon emissions — all have a butterfly effect on the extremes of temperature, erratic rainfall, wildfires and floods of today.
Aryama Ghosh
Third year, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta
Tree of life
Global warming is caused by things like deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This has an impact on weather patterns, making them much more severe.
Ishani Dutta
First year, Calcutta University, Calcutta
No
Natural cycle
Extreme weather events have occurred throughout history, long before the human-induced rise in greenhouse gases became significant. Just because a severe flood or drought is occurring today, it does not mean that anthropogenic climate disruption is the primary cause. The most destructive extreme weather events (major storms, sustained droughts) are governed by large-scale, naturally occurring patterns in atmospheric and oceanic circulation.
Angona Mallick,
Class VIII, Krishnagar Academy, Krishnanagar