Climate experts have warned that this could be the next hottest year on record after two straight years. (“Planetary warming reaches new level of worrying extremes”; March 19).

Climatologist James Hansen cautioned presciently in the 1980s that the effects of global warming could be abrupt.

Now, the unfolding weather abnormalities and disasters often catch us off guard.

The effect of sudden change should seep into the consciousness of Singaporeans and Malaysians, as we are experiencing warmer, drier days owing to the extended El Nino, made worse by global warming.

In scientific literature, it is easy to find examples of how climate change has been linked to a higher incidence of extreme El Nino weather events.

The previous extreme El Nino event, in 1997/1998, highlighted to Singaporeans that unpredictable weather patterns precipitated the Indonesian haze, and affected our health and economy adversely.

An extreme El Nino and haze severity are correlated, proving that it takes only a tiny temperature change to cause an observable domino effect. The haze in 2013 and last year were probably disasters, relative to the scale of the 1997 event.

At this stage, geoscientists and climate experts are providing more accurate models and data for the world, and warning of an even steeper decline in the state of our environment.

Yet, political inertia has left some world powers such as the United States tangled in domestic bickering over the issue of enacting stricter environmental requirements for coal-fired power plants.

Last year’s Paris Agreement on climate change was a landmark, as world leaders were committed to cutting greenhouse emissions. But we now need to ask ourselves: What’s next?

Past environmental letters to Voices have contributed ways of greening our society better, ideas that are worth pursuing.

Take, for instance, the plastic reduction initiative by the National University of Singapore Students Against Violation of the Earth (“Awareness of plastic waste is insufficient to bring change”; March 31, online).

On the whole, the Government should be more proactive and rigorous by enacting laws similar to that in South Korea, Japan or Taiwan to separate trash, recyclables and batteries, which could contain toxic chemicals.

This would be a clear signal of progress towards a more environmentally conscious future.

We have a good track record of using clean fuel for our power, but we must still keep track of advances in photovoltaic and other renewable sources. Our future energy mix should be less dependent on fossil fuel.

Homes could be more energy-efficient by favouring energy-saving appliances.

We could build houses with higher ceilings, and buildings with architecture that encourages natural wind to enter the apartments.

There should also be a shift in our consumption habits, while redesigning products that eliminate waste should be another green goal.

Climate change is inevitable; what is not is the scale of its severity. If those effects are not attenuated now, there would be more uncertainty and any environmental fallout would have greater political and socio-economic repercussions.