While The Climate Changes,Humanity Remains Resilient

Nature and Human Responsibility

Nature provides us with food, water, oxygen, fresh air, and countless other blessings all without asking for anything in return. Despite this, we humans often act selfishly and carelessly, destroying nature’s delicate balance to fulfill our own desires. This ongoing neglect and exploitation of natural resources is now costing us deeply, as we face a full-blown climate crisis.

Causes and Consequences of Climate Change

Rising global temperatures, melting glaciers, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels are all dangerous effects of climate change. These are mostly triggered by human actions like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial pollution. As a result, nature’s harmony is disturbed, and all living beings humans, animals, plants are now bearing the brunt of this environmental breakdown.

Climate Crisis is Not Gender Neutral

Climate change affects everyone, but not equally. Women, girls, and especially members of the LGBTQ+ community often face greater challenges during climate disasters. Women and girls from poor families are typically dependent on local natural resources for survival. Due to water scarcity or crop failures, they are forced to walk long distances just to fetch water or gather food, leaving them with little to no time for education or other opportunities. In many rural areas, the absence of clean cooking fuel compels them to enter forests to cut wood, which is not only physically unsafe but also environmentally damaging. Traditional stoves and fuels cause serious health issues such as respiratory diseases.

How Climate Change Is Affecting Us Today (2025)

In 2025, countries like India and the USA are witnessing record-breaking heatwaves. Delhi crossed 49 degrees Celsius this summer, and regions like East Africa and parts of Australia are facing severe droughts, which are damaging crops and limiting water supplies. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest year on record, and 2025 may surpass it.

This increasing heat is affecting farming, leading to a fall in crop yields. Health conditions are worsening as more people suffer from heatstrokes. Rivers like the Ganges are drying up during summer months. Melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are causing sea levels to rise, leading to frequent floods in cities like Mumbai, Jakarta, and Miami. Island nations such as the Maldives face the threat of completely submerging under water.

Climate-related disasters such as cyclones, storms, and floods have become more common. For instance, Cyclone Remal struck the coasts of India and Bangladesh in May 2024. Food production has declined rice production dropped significantly in Southeast Asia due to poor monsoons. Global food prices soared by 15% in 2024, affecting poor and middle-class families the most.

The rising heat also increases the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue in new areas. Cities experience more pollution during heatwaves, making the air dangerous to breathe.

Wildlife is under threat as nearly a million species face extinction. Coral reefs are bleaching, and forest fires in Canada and California destroyed over 18 million hectares of land in 2024.

Economically, climate disasters caused over $250 billion in global losses last year. Poor countries suffer more as they lack resources for recovery. Key industries like agriculture, fishing, and tourism are severely affected. Furthermore, climate migration is on the rise about 30 million people were displaced in 2024 due to floods, droughts, and storms. Many of them became climate refugees, especially in parts of Africa and South Asia, leading to conflict over land, food, and water.

Global Efforts to Fight Climate Change

Despite these challenges, efforts are being made. Many countries are adopting renewable energy like solar and wind power. Nations have set Net Zero emission targets India aims for 2070, the European Union for 2050. Youth-led movements like Fridays for Future are demanding stronger and faster climate action.

What Individuals Can Do

Everyone has a role to play in fighting climate change. Small lifestyle changes can make a big difference saving electricity, using public transport, cycling or walking when possible, refusing plastic bags and bottles, planting trees, and supporting environmental policies. Raising awareness within schools, communities, and on media platforms is crucial in building a more climate-conscious society.

How Climate Change Affects the LGBTQ+ Community

Climate change affects the LGBTQ+ community in deeply unequal ways. Discrimination and rejection from families and communities often leave LGBTQ+ individuals without safety nets during climate disasters. They are denied access to basic resources like shelter, healthcare, or aid. For example, many transgender people have been turned away from shelters or forced to stay in spaces that don’t respect their gender identity. After Hurricane Katrina, some LGBTQ+ people were refused help by religious organizations. Due to such discrimination, some are pushed into unsafe work like sex work to survive, and the emotional toll can lead to severe mental health crises.

Equal Climate Support for LGBTQ+ People

It is essential to include LGBTQ+ voices in climate decision-making and response planning. Climate justice cannot be achieved without ensuring dignity, safety, and participation for people of all genders and identities. An inclusive approach will lead to stronger, more resilient communities in the face of climate change.

Climate Change and Sexual and Reproductive Health

Climate change also severely impacts sexual and reproductive health services (SRHR). During disasters such as floods, droughts, or cyclones, health facilities are damaged, and medical staff often become unavailable. Women, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals struggle to access birth control, menstrual hygiene products, or safe childbirth services. Lack of clean water increases the risk of infections among mothers and infants. These situations often increase the spread of HIV and STIs. Rising temperatures also affect fertility, including sperm mobility and menstrual health. In overcrowded camps or shelters, risks of sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and reproductive health complications increase dramatically.

Spreading Awareness on Climate and SRHR

Awareness is the first step toward resilience. Educating communities about how climate change impacts sexual and reproductive health helps people prepare better and protect the most vulnerable. Strengthening healthcare systems and ensuring inclusive planning can help safeguard SRHR even during environmental crises.

Conclusion: Protecting Nature, Protecting Ourselves

Nature gives us life, but if we continue to damage it, we may face irreversible harm. It is our shared duty to protect nature and stand in solidarity with those most affected by climate change. Whether it’s gender, class, or sexuality we must ensure that no one is left behind. Only through inclusion, awareness, and action can we build a better, safer, and more just world for all.