Let’s all ignore messages from nature

Governments that genuinely care about people ought to treat the recent devastation of Los Angeles as a warning

It’s called doomscrolling, that constant consumption of news and information that leads to fear or anxiety. And yet, the more time I spend online these days, the more it’s beginning to feel like the norm rather than an exception. Much of the previous month, for instance, felt like a series of reports about an apocalypse. I refer not to the genocide we aren’t allowed to call a genocide, but the wildfires that reduced entire neighbourhoods in Los Angeles to smouldering ruins.

A whole lot of experts have been weighing in on what this will cost America in monetary terms, because that is the only measure that matters there, but all I could think about was Bombay, and how this city would cope in the event of a similar occurrence. It sounds like unnecessary pessimism, until one accepts that there have been enough warning signs issued to us already.

Here’s what boggles the mind. Even a cursory look at any of our streets should be enough to inform the government that we are far from prepared. In July 2024, the BMC conducted a study revealing that 278 out of 1270 buildings in the city lacked fire compliance certificates. The study took place only after the government was questioned about fire safety measures, and that question was raised only because newspapers reported over 10,000 incidents of fire in Bombay over the previous three years alone. Does a raging, uncontrollable firestorm still sound improbable?

This is a conversation that has been going on for as long as those other ones about fixing traffic or potholes. Around 17 years ago, an expert panel was appointed to prepare independent fire safety control regulations for building safety. The report anguished for over a decade until 2019, when an advocate filed a public interest litigation to highlight the lack of a final decision about rules to tackle fires. Two years after that application, the high court directed the state to draft special regulations into the Development Control and Promotion Regulation (DCPR)—a set of rules governing construction and development in Maharashtra. The response? Another panel was set up.

In October 2024, when the government issued notifications on fire safety rules, it was only because the high court warned that it would stop all new development permissions. Think about the time it has taken for these basic rules to be put into place—let alone how long it will take for them to be implemented or enforced—one begins to wonder why what happened in Los Angeles hadn’t led to anxiety here.

Now, consider a few more startling facts: According to the Fire Brigade, there were 2925 fire-related calls recorded between January and July 2023. In 2021-2022, the department responded to 12,815 emergency calls, of which 3484 were fire incidents. A little over a decade ago, government data showed that emergency fire services had a 90 per cent shortage of staff, as well as a 78 per cent shortage of firefighting equipment. I spent some time trying to find recent data, then abandoned the search because I realised how impossible the task would be. I also thought it prudent to discount any government report and use my eyes instead. The option is open to anyone who chooses to visit a fire station. Pick one closest to where you live, then think about whether that is close enough for comfort.

According to a World Bank report published over a decade ago, India has been experiencing a warming climate for a while now. The report predicted unprecedented spells of hot weather occurring far more frequently and covering much larger areas a few years down the line. Our planet’s average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record, according to analysis led by NASA scientists. The European Union’s Earth Observation Programme Copernicus Climate Change Service stated that it was also the first year during which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees C above the pre-industrial level, the threshold beyond which climate change will make human life more difficult.

Let’s compare those statistics with what the state government has proposed to fight fire in Bombay. The new rules mention fire towers with a minimum of two hours of fire resistance, and fireman evacuation lifts with ventilated lobbies at landing level. If something like what flattened Los Angeles a month ago occurs in these parts, will the city survive? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s also a question no one in government appears to be asking seriously, which should worry us all.

When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira
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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.

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