It's Raining in Manila

Image from blog.monstercomments.com

No individual incidents of weather can be indicative of climate change, scientists remind us regularly.  But it's raining in Manila, even though the rainy season starts in June. 

Rainfall patterns are shifting all over the world. And in parts of the world that are more reliant on weather patterns than those of us in urban centers, this is having a major impact.

Researchers at the DHAN Foundation in India studied 40 years of rainfall data in southern India, and they've found that regular rain patterns have shifted violently, becoming unpredictable. Rainfed farmers in southern India are having a hard time guessing what they should plant or when. 

Oxfam America writer Chris Hufstader writes about how shifting rainfall patterns are impacting a village in Mali. 

Hufstader writes: 

"In the coming months, there are some opportunities to create the political will to produce this essential assistance, from legislation in Washington to ongoing international negotiations culminating in Copenhagen in December. I’m hoping we all maximize opportunities to support farmers in Mali as they cope with the changing climate."

But it's not just Mali, its everyone who lives close to the earth. And for those of us who don't, where do we imagine food will come from in the future?

As streets flood in Makati City, the area of Manila where I'm living, I can't help but feel like I'm watching the climate change, as we sit around talking (and writing) about it.