India will be worst affected, says UN climate report

The climate change report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations spells a doom for India. Its latest report shows the world will see higher frequency of droughts, floods, heatwaves and the rise in sea level. The country like India which has large population and is dependent on agriculture will bear the brunt, according to a Delhi-based environment thinktank.

If Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is anything to go by, the impact of 1.5 degree Celsius  rise in temperature would have much more impact than it was thought and a rise in a couple of degrees would bring catastrophe for nations like India.

“The world needs a ‘Plan B’ to address climate change. India must take the lead in forming a global coalition for a 1.5 C world to save its poor and vulnerable population,” CSE was quoted as saying by NDTV.

“Even at a little over 1.0 C warming, India is being battered by the worst climate extremes — it is clear that the situation at 1.5 C is going to worsen. The new report from IPCC has served us a final warning that we must get our act together — now and quickly,” Director General of CSE, Sunita Narain said.

According to Chandra Bhushan, CSE Deputy Director General, also corroborated that the impact of 1.5 degree C warming would have far greater significance than what was earlier thought of. “Accordingly, the world would witness greater sea level rise, increased precipitation and higher frequency of droughts and floods, hotter days and heatwaves, more intense tropical cyclones, and increased ocean acidification and salinity… Countries like India, with large populations dependent on the agricultural and fishery sectors, would be highly impacted,” he was quoted by the same website.

If the IPCC report is anything to go by, India would be worst affected. “The goal of climate change now must be firmly fixed to 1.5 C to give the communities and nations a fighting chance to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. India must take the lead in creating a global coalition in this endeavour,” Bhushan.

With not enough efforts to climatic changes, that 1.5 degree Celsius global warming is likely to happen between 2030 and 2052.

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