Tbilisi, Georgia

Climate Change has become the most discussed and widely recognized global problem in recent years. Every country is touched by climate change, and Georgia is not an exception.

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus Region, located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is bounded to the West by the Black Sea. The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, however, there are two main climatic zones, roughly corresponding to the Eastern and Western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range (with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters above sea level) plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the North. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the South.[1]

In recent years climate change and related problems can be felt across the entire country and it is reflected in various forms. In the regions that are in high mountains, glaciers are starting to melt. If we take and compare photos of glaciers in the ’90s and today’s images, we would see a huge difference, part of the ice that was on these glaciers is molten now. This molten ice has to go somewhere, and it may cause floods. Year to year summers are becoming hotter and winters colder in Georgia. According to the official statistics, the temperature has risen by 0.5 degree Celsius in the last 20 years. Between 1998 and 2008 130 floods happened and on the contrary, another part of the country was affected by severe drought.[2] All these abnormal climate processes make a huge negative impact on livelihood and make land for agricultural purposes useless.

Talking about climate change in Georgia, I cannot avoid mentioning the flooding in our capital city Tbilisi on June 13, 2015, which left 19 people dead and caused damage of 50 million USD.[3] It was the biggest natural disaster in the living memory of the city. The flood happened because the part of the mountain corroded and blocked the pathway of the river Vere. That was when water started gaining more and more pressure and demolished part of the mountain and everything on its way, causing many injuries and deaths. One may ask, what it has to do with climate change. Well, the answer is that heavy rains which have never occurred in Tbilisi before, but due to climate change after extreme hot weather water that evaporated, returned to earth with heavy rains. It had been raining for 2 days non-stop, the water got soil misted and wet and because there were no trees to backbone the mountains, part of the soil got corroded, up to a million cubic metres of earth slid down the cliff into the Vere valley, sending a massive torrent of mud and tree trunks storming into the heart of the city. Tbilisi Zoo appeared in the epicentre of the flooding and many of its animals got drown.

To conclude, I would like to say that climate change is real, it is affecting all of us around the world. Obviously, it is a global problem requiring a complex response of the international community. I believe that in addition to a coordinated work done at the governmental level, we, active citizens of our countries, can also take part in preventing climate change. First of all, raising awareness of our society about this problem is a crucial step, and then to encourage them to take relevant actions. I will stay optimistic and believe that with joint efforts we can still save our planet and make it a more sustainable and better place to live!