We do not see the impact so directly, we see images on television, news and videos on social networks. But when you see it up close, it's scary. I tell you three countries in which the situation that I honestly saw was to burst into tears. But in this blog we are not pessimists, so I will tell you to reflect and inform us, since reality cannot be transformed if it is not known.

I am another citizen like you, who has fallen many times in the citizen's passivity in front of this topic.

For me, seeing these types of things, and learning more, made me change many personal habits, from eating habits to the way I consume in my day to daily life. And so go leaving passivity and indifference aside.

The increase in temperatures, generated above all by human activity, causes changes in our food, hunger, droughts, floods and hurricanes and impacts that are increasingly violent and more visible.

It is the rich countries that pollute the most and it is almost always the more poor and vulnerable population the ones that suffer the most from the consequences.

It is a very extensive topic...

1. INDIA: Polluted rivers and lots (lots) of garbage

In 2011 I traveled to the south of India, Kerala and the most touristic areas, the second time in 2019 I returned with the university and I was able to see the real India, visit the big cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Pune and some rural areas. .. I say more real because the most touristic region is almost never a reflection of the reality of the country.

It is said that you either love or hate India, I loved it (with mixed feelings, but I loved it). If you like to travel, if you are a traveler at heart, you have to go to India at least once in your life.

You have to be prepared for many things, and if what you want is a private driver who will take you from door to door without mediating with anyone or worrying about anything and a great hotel, then don't bother going.

The real India is in the streets, in the stations, on the trains.

Seeing so many unfair situations, dirt and lack of hygiene, street children, lack of organization, pollution... makes you feel terribly helpless. The locals will answer you with "This is India" and that's it. For them, unfortunately, there is no more to do or say.

In India I saw 0 environmental awareness.

I have an image stuck in my head, I remember that we visited Mumbai and the life in the slums, the businesses and the chaotic coexistence of the surroundings. Once we got out of wandering around, we found a river that surrounded the area, it was so full of plastic and garbage that there were parts where you couldn't even see the water. I think I had never seen something so shocking. People throw everything on the ground or in the river, there are no bins on the streets, there is no education around this issue.

The families who lived in the surroundings lived with the garbage, in many homes there were no toilets, so many families defecate in the open. The lack of hygiene was so big that you can't even imagine the impact on the health of those people.

But it is not an isolated case (hopefully). India is a landfill, it is ugly to say it but it is the truth, it is the country that throws the most plastic into the sea. I red some news about the Indian Government regarding this issue, and well, banning single-use plastics has been a small step forward, but there is a huge gap between the commitments and public statements of the Government and what is happening on the land. There is concern about climate change but there has been no change in the decision-making process, no progress is seen.

India is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It suffers from devastating heat waves, floods, droughts, altered monsoon cycles and has lost a fifth of its forests in 20 years. Its environmental picture is bleak. Indian cities are on global lists of the most polluted in the world.

This reality makes me very sad, since India is a super authentic country, with a variety of religious beliefs, languages, gastronomy, ethnic groups, customs, foods, traditions, languages, ceremonies, artistic expressions, values and ways of life.

India is chaos, but surprisingly there is an inexplicable order within all the chaos.

2. ICELAND: Glaciar melting

This was a tremendous and extreme trip with my father. It is never too late to visit the largest volcanic island on the planet for the first time. It is, in fact, another planet.

A destination always highly appreciated by travellers: Iceland is an island where ice and fire merge between erupting volcanoes, glacier tongues, drifting icebergs, boiling geysers, vigorous waterfalls, thermal lakes, whales, puffins and beautiful villages.

Glacial melting is something you've seen so many times on the news that you no longer pay attention to it, it's a long way from the sofa at home, but seeing it really makes you wake up and say, fuck it's real and it's happening.

We visit the Vatnajökull glacier, This glacier is by far the largest in Europe with an area of 8,100 km2. Its ice cover usually measures between 400-600 meters thick as a minimum and 950 m as a maximum; its roof rises 2,000 meters above sea level. Beneath the ice cap are mountains, valleys, plateaus and volcanoes, such as Bárðarbunga, the largest in Iceland, and Grímsvö, one of the most active in the country. It's crazy.

Unfortunately, the increase in the temperature of the planet has caused the glacier to recede and generating this impressive glacier lagoon, it is full of icebergs that break off the glacier and end up in the sea.

The guide showed great concern with this issue, she told us how the Icelandic government was studying alternatives to somehow separate the lagoon from the sea water, since it is the temperature of the sea that causes the melting of the glacier, which if accelerates will cause dramatic consequences. If the glaciers continue to retreat, it is clear that sea levels will rise and god knows what else.

I felt privileged to be there, I was very moved.

3. 3. SEYCHELLES: Loss of coral reefs

Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, facing East Africa. Impressive beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves, as well as exotic animals, such as giant tortoises.

The islands of the archipelago are literally located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 1,590 kilometers from Mombasa, 950 kilometers from the north of Madagascar and more than 1,700 kilometers from the coast of India.

Global warming is destroying the coral reef in the Indian Ocean

The impact of rising temperatures on corals and fish has been much greater than previously thought, and many may have been destroyed forever. We could see it with our own eyes, after snorkeling in other countries and having high expectations with Seychelles, we found a desolate cemetery of colares...

There are initiatives such as Nature Seychelles that launched the Reef Rescuers (RR) project on Praslin Island, for coral restoration that seeks to repair the damage caused by coral bleaching, new methodologies are being tested and restoration projects are being established. research to restore at least 1 hectare of degraded reef and cultivate at least 50,000 corals by 2026.

Activists are building artificial nurseries, regenerating and transplanting more resistant corals. The death of reefs can trigger the collapse of the entire marine ecosystem, undermining fishing and ecotourism, and putting coastal areas in even more danger.

The reefs also act as a barrier for the waves before they reach land. So the disappearance of coral reefs would pose big problems for islands like the Seychelles in terms of coastal erosion, flooding and beach shape.

Therefore, the restoration of coral reefs must be consistent, long-term and of high priority... to guarantee the recovery of functions and also of ecological benefits.

Just kidding, I don´t like drama, but it´s a funny GIF jeej.

In short, it is necessary to accept reality and have alternatives ready – which take a long time to get underway – to face the effects of climate change that we have already caused and that is going to intensify.

And if you travel... remember to be a responsible, conscious and respectful tourist with the environment wherever you go.