Over the past two days, I was glued to my television screen as one reporter after another stood in the rain and braved gusty winds to give the world a very detailed account of the cyclone Phailin that hit the eastern sea coast of India. Such reportage was unparalleled especially in comparison to the reporting around the massive super cyclone that hit the same region in 1999. 24 hour broadcasting ensured the cyclone's landfall made it to TV screens at the same instant as it ravaged through villages and towns in India.

Even with all the technology and the TRP buzz, one vital issue has remained out of discussion so far and that is the elephant in the room, Global Warming. I've been chided several times by reputed individuals in the field of science to not connect any single weather event to climate change and rightly so, it's simply not scientific to beat the climate change drum for my campaigning cause. But when these very scientists, whole 800 of them, unequivocally state that extreme weather events are on the rise and countries like India are highly vulnerable, I find it counter productive to not connect the dots from cyclone Phailin to climate change.

Let's take a brief look at the science. Cyclones are low pressure systems that form over warm tropical oceans. They derive energy from the warmer waters and do not form unless the temperatures are over 26.5 degrees C. The recorded temperature in the Bay of Bengal where Phailin developed was 28-29 degrees C with very high heat content. The sea surface temperature variations over the past few decades show an increasing trend, more particularly pronounced since 1992. Twenty-six of the thirty-five deadliest tropical cyclones in world history have been Bay of Bengal storms. During the past two centuries, 42% of Earth's tropical cyclone-associated deaths have occurred in Bangladesh, and 27% have occurred in India.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), an influential think tank stated in its new report titled "Geography of poverty, disasters and climate extremes in 2030" that India ranks highest in its risk to extreme weather disasters. "Over the two decades many parts of India - including Andhra Pradesh - will be increasingly exposed to disasters. The focus on how deadly disasters can be should not obscure the fact that many homes, hospitals, shops and schools will have been badly impacted in ways which will drive people into poverty", said Dr. Tom Mitchell from ODI. Climate change is as much about politics as it is about science and to act on it would require political mobilisation preceded by a greater public demand to acknowledge and act on this clear and present danger.

India's response to Phailin has been commendable. Over 800,000 people have been evacuated and the casualty rate has been remarkably low. With rapid deployment of the army, navy, coast guard and other reserve forces along with makeshift relief centres, thousands of lives have been saved. Disaster preparedness is as much about livelihoods as it is about lives and the cyclone's impact has been devastating with 9 million people affected and huge losses to crops and homes. Their rehabilitation and restoring their livelihoods is a daunting task. Phailin should therefore be another stark reminder for us think hard about climate adaptation in what is now a new normal in our planet's weather.

The Uttarakhand floods in June, Maharashtra’s drought, floods in Assam and now Phailin give a quick glimpse into the havoc climate change can play as many other disasters are awaiting India tomorrow. Ignorance and denial are not an option anymore and further inaction will come at our own peril.

350 India is organizing an online #ClimateChat on Friday, October 18th 2013 at 5 PM IST. Anyone with queries about climate change, its impacts, causes, perceptions and solutions in the Indian context can pose their questions to a reputable panel via twitter using the hashtag #climatechat. The chat will take place on Google Hangout and those interested can register here. 

The small action was in solidarity with people of Cheyyur, fighting to save their land and water resouces.        Visit  https://cheyyur.wordpress.com/ for more information on the campaign.  

Since launching broad divestment campaigns in both New Zealand and Australia during Bill McKibben's June tour, the campaigns have now focused in and targets are lined up. Today marked a new phase of campaigning in both countries, and builds on the rapid successes of various religious institutions paving the divestment way. Here are 12 photos from things that happened today across both countries (more are rolling in!). All these efforts coincide with the international Reclaim Power Month of Action.

In New Zealand, 350 Aotearoa and Coal Action Network Aotearoa launched a campaign calling on Westpac bank to stop financing Bathurst Resources Ltd, the company which has plans to dig up coal on the Denniston Plateau - an important conservation area home to rare species of geckos, prostrate plants, giant snails and kiwi. Westpac makes big promises around its sustainability practices and its time it lived up to them by not funding climate change. You can send them a letter asking them to withdraw their financial support to Bathurst Resources here. The 350 Aotearoa team also kicked off the first of their Divestment Forums tonight - to a great crowd in Auckland.

Meanwhile, across the ocean and not too far away, students from across 18 of Australia's universities joined together for a Fossil Free Universities day of action. In-roads are already being made at campuses like the Australian National University and Monash University. Over the coming months and into next year we'll be expecting to hear much more as all these Fossil Free Campus groups ramp up their campaigns that are pushing their universities to divest. Meanwhile, later this week we'll see 500 people turn out to Divestment Forums in Brisbane and Melbourne, as part of a series of forums around the country. Check out some of the fantastic photos that came from the day of action (a slideshow of them is viewable by clicking here):

University of Queensland

Melbourne University

University of Tasmania

Monash University

Today is the 4th day of Reclaim Power — a month of action on energy. Over the weekend, our friends at International Rivers led one of the first mobilizations, called Power 4 People. It was a day targeting the World Bank, calling on them to end financing for dirty energy projects and to invest in clean, local energy for all. Lots of the action was targeting the @WorldBank on twitter. And in Washington D.C. this crew took the message to World Bank headquaters:

Check out what is next for Reclaim Power anad join in here: www.reclaimpower.net.

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You have likely noticed that a huge amount of our global 350 work of late has been focused on Global Power Shift (GPS). And suffice to say, GPS is getting really exciting! All you have to do is check out the beautiful, growing timeline of GPS plans to get a sense of how it is developing: https://globalpowershift.org/timeline. Or stay updated on Facebook here.

Today we are excited to write about another related, collaborative, global effort initiated by our friends at the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice — Reclaim Power — a global month of action on energy.

NO to dirty and harmful energy!

YES to renewable energy for people and communities!

October 11 to November 11, 2013

There are a wide range of mobilisations, campaigns, and events woven into Reclaim Power, and we encourage you to plug in to the efforts taking place near you. (That might include some of the GPS plans taking place during the month too!) You can read the full call to action here: https://reclaimpower.net/call-to-action.

One of the earliest efforts being planned is a day of action this Saturday, 12 October, called Power 4 People. Led by our friends at International Rivers this will be a day for demanding the World Bank and other international financiers shift funding away from destructive projects like fossil fuel power plants to clean local energy. Part of the days action will be on social media, so anyone with internet can join in online. Click here for more details.

Throughout the month there may be an action or mobilization being planned close to you. If not, you can plan and register your own activity. Check out Reclaim Power today — it starts this Friday! www.reclaimpower.net