‘Hunuz Dilli Dur Ast’: Climate crisis in the age of war

‘Hunuz Dilli dur ast’, which translates to Delhi is still far away, is a phrase deeply rooted in South Asian history. Legend has it that when Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya was threatened by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, he responded with these words. The sultan never made it back to Delhi; he died on his return journey.

Another popular anecdote recounts Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, dismissing the advancing British with the same phrase. History, of course, proved otherwise.

Together, these stories illustrate the best and possibly the worst of human nature. On the one hand, they reflect hope; a belief that circumstances may improve even in the face of danger. On the other hand, they illustrate the dangerous optimism that leads societies to ignore looming crises until it is too late.

That same instinct has long shaped the global response to climate change.

No longer a distant abstraction

Since at least the 1930s, scientists have warned that environmental degradation and rising greenhouse gas emissions would pose one of the greatest threats to human existence if left unchecked. Yet the economic incentives tied to industrial growth, fossil fuels, and consumption proved too attractive to resist.

For decades, the global community behaved as though ‘Delhi was still far away’. It no longer is.

Today, the distance has rapidly shrunk to the point where climate change and environmental degradation have become intertwined with the ongoing global crises, thereby shaping patterns of pollution and ecological disruption and posing serious public health risks.

Not only is it reshaping the atmospheric processes, but it’s also altering weather patterns to the extent that some of the most densely populated areas on the planet are or will soon become uninhabitable for humans.

The smog crisis, which has now become a full-fledged season in Pakistan and India, is one striking example. Despite political divisions, the two countries are united by recurring episodes of severe air pollution. Studies have linked these prolonged smog events to agricultural crop residue burning, vehicular emissions, industrial activity, and meteorological conditions that trap pollutants near the ground.

Consequently, during peak smog season,........

© Dawn Prism