Doctor Google
Sir — While doctors around the globe rush to reassure people that the human metapneumovirus is not like Covid-19, there is indeed an epidemic that has spread across the world: cyberchondria. This condition is prevalent among people who Google their symptoms and convince themselves that they have some serious disease and are doomed. What is worse, with medicines available over the counter and a variety of supplements accessible on online shopping platforms — a clothes shopping application was recently found to be selling liver supplements — people even start treating themselves on the basis of Dr Google’s advice. This can have dangerous implications and leave perfectly healthy people with ailments that they have effectively inflicted on themselves.
Salil Sengupta, Calcutta
Hell fire
Sir — The scale of the wildfires raging across Los Angeles is overwhelming (“Twin LA fires burn 10,000 structures”, Jan 11). Firefighters are still battling to put out the devastating fires even as the Santa Ana winds are expected to return and further fuel the two monstrous wildfires that have already turned entire neighbourhoods to ashes. The year, 2024, was the warmest on record. The wildfires are a dire warning of the terrible cost of climate change and should be a wake-up call for the international community.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The wildfires in Los Angeles are yet to be brought under control. They have claimed 25 lives, damaged over 12,000 structures, and destroyed property worth nearly $275 billion. There is no doubt that the fires were fuelled by the record breaking heat last year when the target of not letting the planet warm beyond 1.5°Celsius over industrial age temperature was breached all year.
India should learn lessons from this disaster and prepare a roadmap to prevent similar situations. The disaster relief protocol needs to be updated as well in case of forest fires.
R.S. Narula, Patiala
Sir — California has always been notorious for its fierce wildfires. But the fires tearing through Los Angeles are much worse than usual. Dry and hot winds commonly associated with wildfires in the region have been stronger than usual this time around, whipping the flames across parched landscapes at high speeds. It is yet another sign of the havoc climate change is wreaking on the planet. Rising global temperatures are drying out the air and the soil, making fires more intense and harder to control.
According to experts, the idea of a ‘fire season’ no longer applies in California because fires have now become a year-round threat. The wildfires are a warning. If humans do not act against climate change, such tragedies will become routine.
Shovanlal Chakraborty, Calcutta
Sir — Even as the devastating wildfires rage in Los Angeles, India would do well to recall the forest fires in Uttarakhand in 2023 that affected 2,130 hectares of forests. India must strengthen its disaster management systems and increase awareness.
R.K. Jain, Barwani, Madhya Pradesh
Different picture
Sir — For quite some time, states from the Northeast have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sanjoy Hazarika’s column, “Cathartic celebrations” (Jan 9), was thus like a breath of fresh air. He highlighted a different, cultural aspect of the Northeast that often gets eclipsed by news of ethnic violence and insurgency. I look forward to Hazarika’s future columns to discover a different Northeast.
Buddha D. Chattopadhyay, West Burdwan
Historic low
Sir — January 20, 2025 will go down in history as the day when a convicted criminal is sworn in as the president of the United States of America. While the president-elect, Donald Trump, has been handed a no-penalty sentence by a Manhattan court in the hush money case, there is no denying that he committed the crimes he was convicted of. Trump should not have been given unconditional discharge as it sets a bad precedent. The great hue and cry Trump raised over Greenland and Canada was nothing but a diversionary tactic so that his conviction did not garner as much media attention.
Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur
New chapter
Sir — The arrival of the new Grand Slam season — the Australian Open began last week — heralds an exciting chapter in men’s tennis with Novak Djokovic standing as the last titan of the golden generation. Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam titles are a testament to his greatness. But as he approaches 38, the tennis landscape is shifting. With younger stars like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dominating, Djokovic faces a new challenge. Fans will be waiting to see how he reinvents his game to remain relevant. Djokovic’s determination may yet deliver another unforgettable chapter in his remarkable career.
Indranil Sanyal, Calcutta
At risk
Sir — A recent global study on freshwater ecosystems has drawn attention to the bleak environmental situation prevailing in the Western Ghats where a large number of species — 124 out of 301 — are now under serious threat of extinction (“4 in 10 freshwater species in Western Ghats face extinction: Study”, Jan 10). Some of the threatened species, which include fish, crab and shrimp, represent rare evolutionary lineages and have restricted habitats. The hump-backed mahseer and the dragon snakehead fish are among these. Increasing pollution and habitat loss are the causes of the rapid decline in the number of these species. This adds to the growing concern that the world is at the threshold of a major extinction event. Urgent steps should be taken to conserve such species.
Tapes Chandra Lahiri, Calcutta