CLIMATE CHANGE IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The one word or phrase that the entire world is talking about everyday is “Climate Change” or “Global Warming”. It is widely reported in television medium and newspapers about the negative impacts of climate change. Many countries in the way of economic development have given least importance to the environment surrounding them thereby causing ecological imbalance which has resulted in the change of weather patterns over a period of time. Climate change also has the exact meaning. It is defined as the change in weather patterns over a period of time wherein the time can be in number of years to decades and million years. In general, climate change is described with respect to a particular region. Sometimes, it can be referred by taking the entire Earth into account. In a country like India which is fast growing into a global economy, climate change is a major talking point and issue to be dealt with. The causes for climate change include both natural and human influences.

CLIMATE CHANGE IN INDIA

In India, climate change has caused tremendous changes in the weather patterns across different parts of the country. Extended summers, unpredicted rainfall are all some of the effects of climate change. If climate change is not seriously considered, the consequences will be irreparable. Climate change will affect the environment, economy and social welfare of a particular region or country. Some of the research work going on regarding climate change and its impact in India has revealed shocking results. The annual monsoon season will lead to severe droughts and floods in various parts of India. As India depends on monsoon rains for agriculture, forestry and fisheries it has a strong influence for the water based ecosystems.

One of the debatable topics in India is the concept of development and climate change. Does development take place at the cost of impacting the environment thereby aiding climate change?

So, India is on the fast track of becoming a global economy and on the other hand industrialization and urbanization leads to more greenhouse gas emissions which in turn cause climate change mainly impacting the monsoon rains. The changing rainfall patterns over the recent years have caused difficulties to farmers who are not able to cultivate crops with the deficit rainfall.

It is a known fact that global temperature levels will rise anywhere between 2 – 5° over the next century. A 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued statistics which show that temperatures in India will rise by 4° around 2080. Further, it states that the sea level would have risen by about 88 centimeters around the beginning of 21st century. Climate change will also cause health problems which mainly come from water related diseases. Some of the ways of reducing impact of climate change is by finding alternate energy sources for transport which has fewer emissions. Awareness about the impacts of climate change has to be passed on to the common man who is not aware of what the impacts of half a degree increase in temperature would be like!!!

IPCC Climate Change Report

Climate change may have already passed the point of no return despite earlier predictions to the contrary, according to scientist Dr Tim Flannery of Macquarie University in Australia.

A UN climate change report out next month (Nov 16th 2007) will show that greenhouse gases have reached dangerous levels, with emissions more likely to cause irreversible climate change, Dr Flannery warned. Greenhouse gas in the atmosphere reached 455 parts per million of carbon dioxide in 2005, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will show. It had not been expected to reach this level for a decade.

He said: ‘What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that could potentially cause dangerous climate change.’

Climate change talks in Indonesia in December should focus on preserving rainforests there and in Brazil and Papua New Guinea, as reducing emissions might no longer be enough to prevent climate change.

He claims global economic expansion, particularly in China and India, was a major cause of the unexpected acceleration in emissions because of their heavy reliance on fossil fuels.