When the mountains weep: Climate change and the price of our silence

Climate change was once a distant concern, a topic of distant headlines about polar bears and future generations. However, in 2019, journalist experienced a shocking personal encounter with its consequences. While driving to an arbitration at a leading motor manufacturer in South Africa, heavy rain transformed Prospecton Road into a raging river, lifting the journalist's car off the tarmac like a cork.

Fortunately, two rescuers retrieved the vehicle, but the incident served as a stark reminder that climate change was no longer an abstract concept.

This personal experience resonated deeply, especially when reflecting on past tragedies. In 1987, Durban endured relentless rainfall, leading to fatal floods that displaced families and destroyed homes. Then came the catastrophic KwaZulu-Natal floods of 2022, claiming hundreds of lives and leaving entire communities in ruins. More recently, a catastrophic collapse of ice, rock, and debris in Nepal triggered flash floods that swept away villages and infrastructure, leaving hundreds dead and thousands missing.

Scientific research points to retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, and rising atmospheric moisture levels as key factors contributing to the increased ferocity of natural disasters. While no single event can be solely attributed to climate change, the overall trend is clear: the dice are loaded in favor of more frequent and severe calamities.

At the heart of this crisis lies a stark choice between treating the Earth as an infinite resource or recognizing our collective responsibility as stewards of this fragile planet. Generations have treated the Earth as a bottomless credit line, extracting, burning, consuming, and discarding resources without regard for the consequences. Forests have been razed, wetlands sealed with concrete, and carbon emissions pumped into the atmosphere with reckless abandon.

However, behind these actions lies a darker truth: major fossil fuel companies have known about the devastating future path of their products for decades but chose to ignore it. Instead of taking decisive action, they funded climate denial, lobbied against regulation, and marketed a false image of environmental friendliness while pocketing record profits. This is not mere ignorance; it is greed, a calculated decision to shift their costs onto the planet and its most vulnerable people.

The consequences of our actions are now becoming increasingly evident. While some regions drown in floods, others suffer from scorching heatwaves. Europe's late-June 2026 heatwave alone resulted in over 10,000 excess deaths across 27 countries. South Africa, too, has been grappling with alternating floods, droughts, wildfires, and extreme heat. These are not merely environmental stories; they are stories of food security, water access, housing stability, job losses, and survival.

The greatest injustice, however, lies in the disproportionate impact of these disasters on the most vulnerable members of society. The poor family living beside a river, the child in a sweltering classroom, the elderly person without air conditioning, and the Nepalese family sifting through mud for their loved ones—all of them paid the highest price for our collective silence.

Fortunately, the solutions to this crisis are not science fiction. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are now cheaper than coal in most markets. Grid-scale batteries can stabilize the power grid, while early-warning systems and satellite monitoring can save lives during extreme weather events. We possess all the technological tools necessary to address the climate crisis.

What remains lacking, however, is the political will and moral courage to act swiftly and decisively. Governments must make difficult, unpopular choices. They must eliminate the roughly $7 trillion in annual global subsidies propping up fossil fuels and redirect those funds toward decentralized renewable micro-grids. They must require climate stress tests for all major infrastructure projects and enforce compulsory carbon pricing that accurately reflects the true social cost of emissions.

Corporations must also be held accountable through transparent climate-risk disclosures that factor environmental degradation into their financial decisions.

Ultimately, ordinary citizens must recognize that our individual consumption patterns, dietary choices, transportation habits, and waste management practices also play a crucial role in combating climate change. We cannot demand widespread change while clinging to the very habits that perpetuate the crisis.

As journalist recounts his own harrowing experience on Prospecton Road, he hopes that the memories of past tragedies—Durban floods of 1987, the devastation of 2022, the tragedy in Nepal, and Europe's scorching summer—will no longer be seen as mere passing catastrophes. Instead, he hopes they will serve as clear warnings, compelling us to take urgent action before it is too late. The Earth, our only home, is crying out for our attention and intervention.