It's about temperament as much as temperature

As attempts stumbled along in Copenhagen to reach international concord on arresting climate change, it struck me that what's happening around us isn't just about rising temperatures and all the related disasters. It's also about human temperament. It's about us as a people, as a species.

I'm not talking about human survival. That is certainly at stake if the worst case scenarios climate researchers have projected do come true (God forbid!). Let those more in the know debate and discuss the environmental aspect of things. What I'm speaking of is the change in human temperament that has been another unfortunate outcome of global warming.

History shows that people from areas with harsh climates who had hard lives battling the elements were the ones who left their shores to invade the balmier parts of the world. Think about it. Where did the early invaders and conquerers come from? The Vikings, the Huns and many more of their ilk all hailed from regions known for their cruelly cold winters and brief, fleeting summers. When growing or gathering food and staying comfortable were daily battles, the temptation of securing supplies from more fertile lands and perhaps living in more clement weather proved overpowering.

The people of the tropics, on the other hand, were happy to stay put and enjoy the bounty of their native lands. They were placid as a people, easy-going. With the abundance of fruit, crops, rain and fresh air around them, they never felt the need to seek greener pastures. I can't really think of a tribe or nation of conquerers and imperialists that emerged from the balmy tropical regions. Even if there were warrior tribes in the tropics, they mostly fought for control of local resources.

But that was then. Now pollutants have become the great levellers. The deterioration in quality of life and resources across the world is proving directly proportionate to the spike in aggression and unrest. The fight for resources is no longer the domain of nations. It has come down to individual levels in extreme cases. You can see it in urban slums across the developing world (many of them in the tropics) where water riots routinely break out.

You don't even need to study the entire world. India is the perfect microcosmic example. Indians living in areas with harsher climate and extreme temperatures tend to have mercurial temperaments to match. There is an underlying tinge of aggression, a tendency to restiveness. Indians from areas where the weather is milder have traditionally been more even-tempered. I know, you feel I'm oversimplifying and generalising here. But think about it. Be honest. Isn't that the case?

Unfortunately, things are changing now. And nowhere is it more apparent than in our overcrowded cities. A steady poisoning of the air, water and soil has corresponded with a rise in impatience, belligerence and suspicion. Climate change and pollution are certainly not solely responsible for this. But they are significant factors. It is extremely challenging to stay patient and placid when caught in a snarl of toxin-belching traffic, lining up in the heat for a few buckets of water, breathing in fumes from diesel generators every time the electric supply fails. The hotter it gets, the worse things become.

The cities of India's north are used to punishingly hot summers. But not the rest of the country. Mumbai has seen a steady rise in its day temperatures and a decline in annual rainfall over the past few years. Homes in Bangalore (I should say Bengaluru), the Garden City, now don't just have ceiling fans but air conditioners too. That certainly wasn't the case a decade ago. Chennai's water woes are famous. These conditions are fairly new to them, so people are struggling to cope with the changes. In all these cities and surrounding regions, tempers have been creeping up just like the temperatures. People there are no longer the easy-going folk they used to be.

That's why I have my fingers crossed for Copenhagen. I hope our leaders finally agree to work together for a cleaner, greener world where our children can breathe a little easier and live in harmony. Because I certainly don't like what climate change is turning us humans into.