People across the northern, eastern and north-eastern regions of the country have been experiencing a cold wave in the past couple of weeks, with the Met department saying that this condition is likely to stay for the next fortnight or so. Whether this is an impact or fall-out of climate change occurring in this part of the globe however is not officially known. But then, it has by now become common knowledge that the various factions of the human species –including rapid deforestation, destruction of mountains, hills, riverbeds and water-bodies – have already started harming the overall environment including the climate. While the Met department has forecast continuation of the cold wave and cold day conditions over Northwest and Central India for the next few days at a stretch, the Eastern and North-eastern Region is likely to come under a wet spell in the first week of February. As far as the North-eastern Region is concerned, isolated to scattered light or moderate rainfall is very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, in addition to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during the next several days. Going through the website of the Met department, one finds that it has issued a warning of an increased likelihood of various illnesses like flu, running or stuffy nose including nosebleed, which usually set in or gets aggravated due to prolonged exposure to cold. The Met department has also advised the people not to ignore shivering, saying it is the first sign that the body is losing heat. In extreme conditions, there is also a possibility of frostbite, which can occur due to prolonged exposure to cold, as a result of which the skin turns pale, hard and numb and eventually black blisters appear on exposed body parts such as fingers, toes, nose and or earlobes. The Met department has thus suggested that people wear several layers of loose-fitting, light-weight warm woollen clothing; cover their head, neck, hands and toes adequately as the majority of heat loss occurs through these body parts; eat fruits and vegetables which are rich in Vitamin-C and drink sufficient fluids preferably warm fluids to maintain adequate immunity, and avoid or limit outdoor activities.