“The Ministry for the Future” is a 2020 climate fiction (“cli-fi”) by U.S. science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson.
The titular ministry is a new United Nations organ established in an all-out attempt to combat global warming through legislation, environmental engineering and every other imaginable means.
Immediately after the ministry enters into operation in 2025, India is hit by a deadly heat wave.
With the mercury hitting 42 degrees, cities swelter and smell like the fiery heat itself. The high humidity disrupts sweating, making it harder for the body to cool down.
The situation is further aggravated by a massive power outage. Unable to seek refuge in air-conditioned rooms, a total of 20 million people die.
If classic science fiction is about depicting fictitious worlds as if they were real, I suppose this particular cli-fi novel fictionalizes a world that may well become real. And that makes the story all the more disturbing.
A measure, of the kind the fictitious Ministry for the Future could have called for, goes into effect in Japan on April 24.
A special heatstroke alert, jointly operated by the Environment Ministry and the Japan Meteorological Agency, will be issued when potentially lethal heat is expected.
Brutal heat is forecast for this summer, again. I am already bothered by visions of cities wilting in the heat.
Starting on April 25, “natsubi,” or summer days in which temperatures reach at least 25 degrees, are expected to hit various parts of Japan. The official start of summer, called “rikka,” is May 5.
In conventional years, it is only the start of summer under the traditional calendar. This year, however, full-scale summer could actually start around that day.
Normally, spring should be in full force around now, with gentle breezes and nature bursting with new life.
But I have been feeling lately that there are fewer days of spring to enjoy.
“Once upon a time, Japan was called a country with four seasons, but now there are only summer and winter.”
I wonder if this will one day be true and not just a line from a sci-fi novel.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 24
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
VOX POPULI: Climate change may remove spring from Japan’s calendar
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24.04.2024
“The Ministry for the Future” is a 2020 climate fiction (“cli-fi”) by U.S. science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson.
The titular ministry is a new United Nations organ established in an all-out attempt to combat global warming through legislation, environmental engineering and every other imaginable means.
Immediately after the ministry enters into operation in 2025, India is hit by a deadly heat wave.
With the mercury hitting 42 degrees, cities swelter and smell like the fiery heat itself. The high humidity disrupts sweating, making it harder for the body to cool down.
The situation is........
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