India’s First Climate Change Report – Free PDF Download

• For the first time, India has released its own national report on the state of the climate crisis.
• It takes a close look at where we stand regarding long-term changes in climate patterns, and their attendant risks.
• The report describes the observed changes and future projections of precipitation, temperature, monsoon, drought, sea level, tropical cyclones, and extreme weather events.

The crux

• The report reveals that local climate change is influenced not only by the increase in greenhouse gases,
• But also by the increase in air pollution and the local changes in the land-use pattern.

Findings of the report

• India’s average temperature has risen by around 0.7°C during 1901–2018.
• By the end of the twenty-first century,
• Average temperature over India is projected to rise by approximately4°C relative to the recent past (1976–2005 average)
• This rise in temperature is largely on account of GHG-induced warming
• It projects that the frequency of summer (April–June) heat waves over India will be 3 to 4 times higher by the end of the 21st century.
• This in turn will lead to a high likelihood of an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, compounded by the increased variability of monsoon

Droughts-

• The overall decrease of seasonal summer monsoon rainfall during the last 6–7 decades has led to an increased propensity for droughts over India.
• In particular, areas over central India, southwest coast, southern peninsula and north-eastern India have experienced more than 2 droughts per decade.
• The area affected by drought has also increased by 1.3% per decade over the same period.

Changes in the Himalayas

• The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) experienced a temperature rise of about 3°C during 1951–2014.
• Several areas of HKH have experienced a declining trend in snowfall and also retreat of glaciers in recent decades.
• In contrast, the high-elevation Karakoram Himalayas have experienced higher winter snowfall that has shielded the region from glacier shrinkage.
• By the end of the twenty-first century, the annual mean surface temperature over HKH is projected to increase by about 5.2°C.

Conclusions

• Since the middle of the twentieth century, India has witnessed a rise in average temperature; a decrease in monsoon precipitation; a rise in extreme temperature and rainfall events, droughts, and sea levels; and an increase in the intensity of severe cyclones, alongside other changes in the monsoon system.
• There is compelling scientific evidence that human activities have influenced these changes in regional climate.
• Human-induced climate change is expected to continue apace during the twenty-first century.
• To improve the accuracy of future climate projections, particularly in the context of regional forecasts,
• It is essential to develop strategic approaches for improving the knowledge of Earth system processes, and to continue enhancing observation systems and climate models.

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