Click to play videoKutch: While the world debates global warming, for the people living on the coast in Gujarat, climate change is already a reality.
Gujarat has the longest coastline in India with over 3 lakh fishermen.
Ali Bhai, who is a fisherman, has been fishing since the age of 10. But he can't forget the fateful day in May 1998 when he got caught unaware by a highly intense cyclone.
"The cyclone came at 2 AM in the night. There sea water came in and destroyed everything," says Ali.
While Ali survived, others weren't so lucky. Khamisa Ali lost eight of his family members including his 11-year-old daughter while they were out fishing off the Gujarat shore.
"I have neither seen a cyclone like that, nor have seen the water rising so quickly. I lost eight of my family members," says Khamisa Ali.
Was it just nature's fury or are these fishermen victims of climate change?
A study by Marine Environmental Research says that incidents of the most powerful cyclones have increased as high as five times in the Arabian sea since the year 1995. Experts say the reason is global warming.
"It's not just the outer surface but the impacts of global warming are reaching the interiors of the sea as well," says Prasanna Kumar of the National Institute of Oceanography, Pune.
Gujarat has the longest Indian coastline with over 3 lakh fishermen living off the sea.
If the current trend of global warming continues and sea levels rise by 1 meter, the question is where will the fishermen go?.
They may not be left with any option but to crowd into the cities as climate refugees.
At village Danti in southern Gujarat, the sea has already started taking over.
The village wells have got submerged and people have already moved thrice.
While the world debates on climate science, for people on the coast of Gujarat, climate change is already turning into a reality.
It is the traditional fishermen who are further getting pushed to the brink.
This story was enabled by Centre for Science and Environment Media Fellowship given to journalists who cover environment issues
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