Time To Mitigate The Impact Of Climate Change
Recent reports indicate many places in the world including in India are in the grip of intense heat-wave. In India, Churu, Rajasthan has crossed the 50 degree Celsius mark. Though there was some respite to the heat-wave conditions, many places would be facing severe high temperatures. Though, heat-wave conditions are not new to certain parts of India, the intensity and duration have changed in the recent years to what can be attributed to climate change.
A recent analysis by the Australian think-tank, National Centre for Climate Restoration (Breakthrough) has painted a scary picture that “man-made climate change is going to result in the extinction of up to one million animal species.” Though it appears to be alarmist, the danger is real and is at our doorsteps.
Climate change is the change in weather patterns as certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) water vapour, Carbondioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contribute to generation of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which block heat from escaping, forcing the climate to change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more than 1,300 scientists from across countries, forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. The extent of climate change effects on individual regions will vary over time and with the ability of different societal and environmental systems to mitigate or adapt to change.
The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in some regions and harmful ones in others.
India has already started experiencing the impact of climate change. It has changed to warmer and unusual spell of hot weather is expected to occur far more frequently and cover much larger areas. The situation might be compounded with monsoon becoming unpredictable, resulting in drop in wheat cultivation and cereal production leading to food insecurity and loss of livelihood. It is estimated that a rise of 0.5 degree Celsius in winter temperatures could cause a 0.45 tonne per hectare fall in India's wheat production. The average per hectare production in India is 2.6 tonnes.
The rising sea levels could cause coastal erosion and flooding. It could also affect the mega deltas including the Ganges and Brahmaputra. The rise in sea levels could pose a threat to Indian archipelago of Lakshadweep, as also the neighbouring country of Maldives.
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics and moral and ethical questions – and is a global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for decades to come. How we mitigate the impact of climate change will be determined by how our emissions continue and how our climate system responds to those emissions. It involves a two-pronged strategy – reducing emissions and stabilising the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and adapting to climate change already in place.
India is committed to the global initiative to combat climate change and global warming. The 2015 UN Summit on Climate Change in Paris, brought all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts in this regard and adapt to its effects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macron took the initiative at the Paris Summit to set up the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to undertake joint efforts for massive deployment of solar energy as an alternative to fossil fuel, which is one of the major causes of climate change.
A recent analysis by the Australian think-tank, National Centre for Climate Restoration (Breakthrough) has painted a scary picture that “man-made climate change is going to result in the extinction of up to one million animal species.” Though it appears to be alarmist, the danger is real and is at our doorsteps.
Climate change is the change in weather patterns as certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) water vapour, Carbondioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contribute to generation of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which block heat from escaping, forcing the climate to change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more than 1,300 scientists from across countries, forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. The extent of climate change effects on individual regions will vary over time and with the ability of different societal and environmental systems to mitigate or adapt to change.
The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in some regions and harmful ones in others.
India has already started experiencing the impact of climate change. It has changed to warmer and unusual spell of hot weather is expected to occur far more frequently and cover much larger areas. The situation might be compounded with monsoon becoming unpredictable, resulting in drop in wheat cultivation and cereal production leading to food insecurity and loss of livelihood. It is estimated that a rise of 0.5 degree Celsius in winter temperatures could cause a 0.45 tonne per hectare fall in India's wheat production. The average per hectare production in India is 2.6 tonnes.
The rising sea levels could cause coastal erosion and flooding. It could also affect the mega deltas including the Ganges and Brahmaputra. The rise in sea levels could pose a threat to Indian archipelago of Lakshadweep, as also the neighbouring country of Maldives.
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics and moral and ethical questions – and is a global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for decades to come. How we mitigate the impact of climate change will be determined by how our emissions continue and how our climate system responds to those emissions. It involves a two-pronged strategy – reducing emissions and stabilising the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and adapting to climate change already in place.
India is committed to the global initiative to combat climate change and global warming. The 2015 UN Summit on Climate Change in Paris, brought all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts in this regard and adapt to its effects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macron took the initiative at the Paris Summit to set up the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to undertake joint efforts for massive deployment of solar energy as an alternative to fossil fuel, which is one of the major causes of climate change.
Climate Change is real and has reached a decisive state for nations and people to act – we may have to choose between taking unprecedented action, or accept that it has been too late and bear the consequences. Our short-term economic interests cannot be allowed to trample the environment and human existence.
Script: N. Bhadran Nair, Executive Editor, Indian Science Journal
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