The mercury has hit 45 degrees Celsius in Delhi. The poor are dying. The rich flee to air-conditioned enclaves.
And British aid agencies wring their hands, demanding ‘emergency heat action.’ One must ask: what else is new? The Fall of Rome was preceded by catastrophic climate shifts, and here we are, contemplating the collapse of urban civilisation under a merciless sun.
The Victorian era taught us that progress is a fragile illusion. It is not. The poor in Delhi face a choice: work or die.
Safety is a luxury for those who can afford to avoid the heat. The state, in its infinite wisdom, dithers. Perhaps we need a new emperor, one who understands that heatwaves are not acts of God but failures of governance.
We have intellectual decadence in our boardrooms, and it is roasting the masses. Let the memes of ‘summer is here’ proliferate, but do not be fooled. This is not weather.
This is a verdict on our civilisational pretensions.
