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MALTATODAY 30 July 2023

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IF you have been following global events, it is clear that cli- mate change is real and blister- ing heatwaves caused by global warming are here to stay. According to the World Me- teorological Organization and the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service: "July 2023 is on track to become the world's hottest month on record — with some scientists saying the planet may be experiencing its warmest period in about 120,000 years." Copernicus climate director Carlo Buontempo said that, "in all likelihood, we have never experienced a world so hot in modern history." Locally, the ripple effect of the gruelling combo of a hor- rid heatwave and power cuts has taken a deathlier turn, with actual fatalities and a na- tional hospital which cannot cope. Although (as forecast) the fierce heat had subsided on Wednesday, the fallout from the unprecedented situation continues. According to the latest re- ports, at least 11 people died between Saturday and Tues- day in Malta, suffering symp- toms of heat exhaustion and dehydration as the island was hit by the kind of tempera- tures one usually finds in the desert, which were exacerbat- ed by lengthy power cuts in most areas. Of course, for all we know this number could be even higher (and the rumour mill was busy claiming that it was) but so far only 11 deaths have been directly attributed to what happened over this last week and a half. On Tuesday, which was prob- ably the worst day, 500 people showed up at Mater Dei's emer- gency department, resulting in chaos. The majority of patients were elderly people exhibiting all the signs of heat-related health issues, and there were reports of people waiting for as long as 14 hours to be seen. Scheduled non-urgent opera- tions have had to be cancelled and many desperate patients resorted to private hospitals instead. More alarmingly, also on Tuesday, the hospital was without electricity for around 50 minutes when generators failed to kick in. The dire situation has prompted the following state- ment from the Malta Associ- ation of Public Health Med- icine (MAPHM): "This crisis was not unforeseeable, caused by a combination of the heat- wave, and ongoing power cuts. Climate change experts have warned that it is possible that heatwaves will keep on coming more frequently and at higher intensities. Coupled with the population increase, this will put more strain on Malta's crit- ical infrastructure." It is already clear that our electricity distribution is un- der duress, which in itself is worrying enough, especially in places where it also affected the water supply, but when our healthcare (which we take so much for granted) is jeopard- ised, then the alarm bells start ringing more loudly and wide- spread concerns mount even further. If this is not a wakeup call that we need to change our ways and the completely wrong di- rection this country has taken, then I don't know what is. A cursory look at the head- lines shows that the govern- ment is scrambling to pick up the pieces and cushion the blow of the political damage. Energy Minister Miriam Dal- li has announced a climate change authority "to monitor the impact of climate change and co-ordinate actions to mit- igate its effects." But an angry electorate, wea- ry and worn out by too many hot, sleepless nights, is hardly going to be impressed by what sounds like another quango and more jobs for the boys and girls. More importantly, the PM said the government will be doubling its investment in the country's distribution net- work, aimed at having a more robust system. This latter statement is what interests everyone the most in the short-term, because as this heatwave showed us, we are woefully unprepared for what looks like a recurring spike in temperatures. The announce- ment also confirms what was obvious to everyone these past few weeks as Enemalta work- ers grappled with one damaged cable after another - our infra- structure is outdated and inad- equate for today's needs. Over the last decade with the lax approach to what can be developed where, home own- ers have sold their townhouses to developers knowing full well that blocks of flats would re- place them. And, as we know, once one house goes down in a street, the others follow suit. It has been the opposite of pro- gress, because apart from ru- ining the sense of community, the landscape and whole neigh- bourhoods, all of this develop- ment with no sense of proper planning is unsustainable on a tiny island. And this has been proven in these past few weeks (as ex- plained to me by an electrical engineer), as the cables orig- inally meant for one-fami- ly homes are having to feed blocks of apartments built on the same footprint. In other countries, all utility services (water, electricity, sewage and so on) are laid down before any building starts so that they will be sufficient for whatev- er development is going to be built. Here we are tearing down houses to build flats in- stead and connecting a number of apartments to the existing distribution system, and then we wonder why we have power cuts. It also probably explains why some areas and streets (which have not seen rampant development) did not suffer any power cuts at all. In the light of this recent na- tional emergency, as Enemalta workers toiled day and night to restore power, I would have expected our government to encourage people not to waste electricity (once it came back on that is). After all, when there is a drought everyone tries not to waste water, so shouldn't the same thing have happened during an energy cri- sis? Certain large scale events should have been postponed, showrooms should have turned off their lights at night, and the public should have been asked to be more mindful of turning off air conditioners when not needed (for example) which suck up so much power. We have already been warned to expect more power cuts if and when we are hit by another heatwave - so proper leader- ship demands that rather than telling us to "read a book", guidelines should be issued on how to ease the pressure on the power supply as much as we can. In a way, one could argue that the energy subsidies which have prevented hard- ship to businesses and fami- lies have made us rather blasé and spoiled about the amount of electricity we use and how careless we can be with our consumption. In countries where there is no such safety blanket, citizens have learned how to be frugal in order not to be faced by a heart-stopping bill. Maybe what we need to do is to treat the prospect of another heatwave and more blackouts in the same way. Because even though we have been promised more invest- ment in the distribution net- work, I cannot see this hap- pening within the next month, when temperatures are bound to soar once again. 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JULY 2023 OPINION If this is not a wakeup call, I don't know what is OPINION Josanne Cassar

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