Hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that, despite our technologies most of nature remains unpredictable. -Diane Ackerman

Hurricane season officially began on June 1^st and will end on 30th December but 2017 has been a year of exceptions! Arlene an off-season Atlantic Hurricane formed off the coast of Bermuda in the month of April. So, we can very safely say that 2017 is slated to have a long Hurricane season. What is disturbing is that Irma had developed into a category 5 storm while it was still over the relatively cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricanes usually gather momentum as they enter the warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea. But Irma had gathered momentum long before. These two instances of Hurricane behavior are consistent with results of Global Warming.

Nature is all powerful and all giving. The earth provides enough for every man’s need but will not satisfy man’s greed. Though storms, hurricanes are all part of nature, the intensity and frequency of these occurrences has squarely increased. The onus of that falls on mankind. The relentless plundering of natural resources in the name of development is one of the causes. Hurricanes get their energy from the warm air above the Oceans, the oceans are warming up faster because of the gases we emit due to the burning of fossil fuels, coal etc. We must wake up to this fact! The Caribbean Islands, the Southern States of The United States of America, The Philippines are living a nightmare of hurricanes year in and year out.

All that the advanced technology available at our disposal can do is predict the formation and the intensity of the approaching storm and no more. All the advancement in communication technology fell flat when basic electricity was disrupted as the towers were uprooted, such was the intensity of Hurricane Irma. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see the monumental damage caused by nature’s fury, Images of people being evacuated from their homes, the trauma faced by old and young alike, the colossal loss to businesses and economy, leaves one saddened and wondering whether all that development was worth it. The fact remains no one on this planet will escape the impact of global change.

What is our moral, social responsibility? Each one of us is responsible to set things right. We must not forget that we have not inherited the planet from our ancestors but we have borrowed it from our children. The smallest measures to conserve our limited natural resources will go a long way in correcting the damage. We must actively adopt alternate sources of energy be it solar, water or wind.

Adopting appliances that function on solar technology is the best and smartest decision one can make. Specially during the electricity outages experienced during the hurricane strike, having charged solar lighting that function on batteries would most certainly make the situation more manageable. Reducing dependency on electricity is the need of the hour. We are not done with the hurricanes yet; the weather institutions have already predicted that there are a few more building! Forewarned is Forearmed. Prepare yourself for the eventuality, invest in lighting that serves you best. Not affected by power disruptions invest in solar lighting.