France express solidarity with Chennai floods victims, calls for 'urgent action' against climate change

Paris: France on Thursday expressed solidarity with people affected by the worst ever floods in Chennai and its suburbs and said the “unprecedented” magnitude of the flooding confirms that time is running out and “concrete and urgent” action needs to be taken against climate disruption. “Flooding in India’s Chennai region has taken a tragic toll. I want to express France’s solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy. The unprecedented magnitude of the flooding confirms yet again that we no longer have time. We must take concrete and urgent action against climate disruption,” said French foreign minister Laurent Fabius. [caption id=“attachment_1594309” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  French foreign minister Laurent Fabius. AFP.[/caption] Rescue and relief operations were in full swing on Thursday in the worst flood-affected areas of Chennai and suburbs and neighbouring districts which enjoyed a welcome respite from torrential rains as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore in aid to Tamil Nadu. Heavy rains continued to lash coastal Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas ever since North-East monsoon fury started early in November, and Villupuram and Kanyakumari districts and Puducherry as the death toll in the state mounted to 269. Modi visited Chennai on Thursday to take stock of the situation arising due to the devastating floods and also took an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts in Tamil Nadu. Indian environment experts attending the Paris climate change summit have already said that the rains in the city were an outcome of the ever warming planet. “We are now experiencing the full blown impacts of climate change. The extreme rainfalls that Chennai is experiencing is a direct outcome of our ever warming planet. The global average temperature has increased by less than one degree. Think what will happen at two degree temperature increase,” Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. PTI