Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Climate change catastrophe: India predicted to face severe weather

by LAUREN CODLING

INDIA would be among countries “highly impacted” by the changing climate, which may cause a higher frequency of droughts, floods and intense heatwaves, an environmental


think-tank cautioned on Monday (8).

Scientists released a report on the risks of rise of global temperatures, warning the world is off-track from keeping the rise under 1.5 degrees celsius. Instead, the planet is headed

towards 3C.

Issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the findings have sparked several leading environmentalists to urge for change, claiming action needs to be taken with immediate effect.

The IPCC report noted that risks of a destructive effect would be highest for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, although it stressed that no part of the world will be immune

from rising threats if temperatures rose.

There will be a higher frequency of heatwaves, droughts and floods, as well as more intense tropical cyclones and increased ocean acidification, which would affect India and

cause major disruption, the deputy director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said.

“Countries like India, with large populations dependent on the agricultural and fishery sectors, would  be highly impacted,” Chandra Bhushan said.

CSE suggested India take the lead in forming a global coalition to keep temperature low in order to save “its poor and vulnerable population”.

“Even at a little over 1C warming, India is being battered by the worst climate extremes [and] it is clear that the situation at 1.5C is going to worsen,” the director of CSE, Sunita

Narain, added. “The new report from IPCC is a final warning that we must get our act together – now and quickly.”

Dr NH Ravindranath, from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), agreed that India is one of the most susceptible countries to the changing climate.

Dr Ravindranath, who specialises in forestry, said: “The impacts of climatic change hazards, like droughts and floods, will depend on the exposure [of the population in coastal zones,

drought and flood-prone areas and mountain slopes].

“Since India has a very large population and regions subjected to droughts, floods, and sea

level rise, it is one of the most vulnerable countries.”

If nothing changes, one of the authors of the IPCC report claimed, the world would be vastly different to the one we live in today. Missing the goal would affect efforts to achieve global sustainable development goals aimed at everything from slashing poverty and hunger to providing clean, affordable energy to all.

“The world we know today is not the world we will see in 50 years [if global warming exceeds 1.5C],” author Debora Ley said. “It will be considerably worse.”

In India, for instance, late monsoons and rain falling in the harvest season in states such as Punjab and Madhya Pradesh have led to crop losses as high as 50 per cent, said Joyashree Roy, a report author and economics professor at India’s Jadavpur University.

Farmers could once recover from losses – but as they become more frequent, that is getting harder to do, she said.

“If it happens within three years again, then they are unable to cope, so they are in a series of indebtedness,” she said.

Other potential deadly effects on south Asia if temperatures reach 2C include a rise in vector borne diseases such as malaria and megacities becoming more exposed to deadly heatwaves by 2050, affecting millions of people.

Affecting other parts across the world, the report also predicted coral reefs would be completely wiped out and global sea levels would rise around 10cm if temperatures

rose to two degrees celsius.

Keeping to 1.5C would mean that 10 million fewer people would be in danger of the risks of

intense flooding.

Focusing on four key global sectors, the report entitled Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees has said there must be significant changes in energy, land use, cities and industry to fight climate change.

To keep the temperature down, scientists have recommended several points, so we can stay at 1.5C.

These suggestions include reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from the 2010 levels; using up to seven million sq. km of land to sustain energy crops, and reaching global net zero emissions by 2050.

“Though it will be very difficult in the current global economic system to limit warming to 1.5C, it is not impossible. This will require acting on all fronts to rapidly reduce emissions by 2030,” Bhushan said.

However, he highlighted that the US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017 would

have negative consequences on efforts made.

“Without an active participation of the US, this will be impossible,” he said. “In totality, how

the rest of the world handles the climate rogue behaviour of the Trump administration will decide whether the world meets the 1.5C goal or not.”

US president Donald Trump announced in 2017 that the nation would be pulling out of the

Paris Agreement, a commitment submitted by 195 nations in 2015 aiming to cut down carbon dioxide emissions. This withdrawal cannot be confirmed before 2020 according

to the terms of the agreement.

However, the report claimed the commitments put forward by the Paris Agreement would still fail to keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5 degrees celsius, even if fully met.

If no conscious efforts are made to tackle the issue, it is predicted global warming is likely to reach 1.5C between 2030 and 2052.

Requested by governments, the IPCC research was issued ahead of a UN conference in December in Poland which will consider how to increase country ambitions to cut emissions and manage climate risks better.

(With agencies)

More For You

Air India

The Amritsar-Birmingham and Amritsar-London Gatwick routes will each increase from three to four weekly flights, while Ahmedabad-London Gatwick will go from three to five weekly flights.

Air India to increase flights between UK and India from March 30

AIR INDIA will increase flight frequencies on key routes as part of its Northern Summer schedule, effective 30 March 2025.

In the UK, the airline will add three more flights on the Delhi-London Heathrow route, increasing from 21 to 24 weekly flights using a mix of A350-900 and upgraded B787-9 aircraft.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pablo-Escobar-merchandise-Getty

Escobar, killed by security forces in 1993, remains a figure of global interest, with his image appearing on souvenirs like T-shirts, mugs, and keychains. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colombia considers ban on Pablo Escobar merchandise

COLOMBIA’s Congress is considering a bill that would ban the sale of merchandise featuring drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals.

The proposed law aims to curb the glorification of Escobar, who was responsible for thousands of deaths during his time leading the Medellín cartel, reported BBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Polls show most Britons back assisted dying, with supporters calling for the law to reflect public opinion.

Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Eastern Eye

THE proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a high court judge sign off on each case, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday (11).

Opponents of assisted dying said the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Malkinson

Malkinson, 59, has been struggling financially since his release and has been on universal credit for 19 months. (Photo: X/@NotThatBigIan)

Wrongful rape conviction: Andrew Malkinson to get 'significant' compensation

ANDREW MALKINSON, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, will receive a six-figure interim compensation payment from the Ministry of Justice.

The payment comes more than a year after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

The assessment will shape structural reforms and examine protections for property rights and foreign investments

IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

Eastern Eye

A TECHNICAL team from the International Monetary Fund met Pakistan’s chief justice Yahya Afridi on Tuesday (11) to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme.

The IMF team is in the country for a week-long trip to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory framework tackling governance and corruption as part of a £5.6 billion loan agreed last year.

Keep ReadingShow less