Happy World Environment Day 2026. This year’s commemoration, like those that have come before – is about the call to action, because it’s now or never.
As a scientist who spent a significant number of years studying the science of weather before shifting gears while remaining within related borders, it would be assumed that I would have a better grasp of what’s going on in as far as climate change is concerned. The truth of the matter, however, is that even the most experienced scientists struggle to get it right today. And technology advancements or computer-aided tools do not make it any easier. The forecasts do not always hold – and when they do, they still fail to pick the extreme scenarios for which the crisis is far dire.
Over the years, I have come to the realisation that whereas decision makers and actioners (which is essentially all of us) know a little or a lot about what needs to be done, in practise we barely live what we preach or recommend. Unfortunately, we are more concerned about living today than dwelling in the horizon future we know nothing about. Talks about pursuing a below 1.5-degree celsius average global warming rate will continue while we continue to register unprecedented temperature spikes. More conference of parties will be convened, and more climate finances will be poured towards adaptation and mitigation. More locally led climate actions will be initiated. But we still be left in a limbo situation.
Is it all a lost affair? Not at all. There is always hope for those who believe in it and go for it, right?
For this year’s WED, I want to highlight one such story of hope. In the quiet hills or rocky areas of Western Kenya region live communities that are taking measures one step at a time. We all know the adage about cut one tree and plant two, and the continuous mission that has been afforestation measures. So, I will not try to re-emphasise that. I was however recently touched by how instrumental these actions truly are – when communities internalize and do the right thing to restore their own environment, one tree at a time. For a dry place that barely received rainfall decades ago at a time when the capital city was praised as the green city under the sun and everyone wished to make that maiden move to experience the glow, cool and greenness of Nairobi, things seemed to have changed drastically. Visiting this rural area today would now feel like your Nairobi of the past – weatherwise. The rains have become a bit more frequent, you can smell, see and feel the green atmosphere, as trees quickly reshape the local climate. The roads may be muddy and barely passable when it rains cats and dogs, but that is a small trade-off compared to the flooded and messy roads within the city environs orchestrated by either poor infrastructural development, concretization and skyscrapers everywhere in the name of modernization without regard to proper storm and sewerage water drainage systems, or urbanites simply clogging drainages through poor waste disposal without thinking about the long term consequences. As I look at this small village where hope now beckons, I am convinced that small actions in response to climate change make a whole lot of difference. But we must be honest with ourselves – as leaders, as industrial shapers, as communities, you name it. We can either make it better or worse.
Until the next post, Happy WED 2026 as you act now for climate.