WATCH: "Next fifteen years are crucial," says one of the lead author of the recent IPCC report
At Gaon Cafe, Anjal Prakash, one of the lead authors of the recently released IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report of the Working Group II, discusses what the report mentions about the impacts of climate change on the South Asian region, of which India is a part of. From an increased incidence of cyclones and floods to greater vulnerability of the population along the coasts, Anjal Prakash talked about the risks and also offers a way forward.
गाँव कनेक्शन 16 March 2022 9:24 AM GMT
Underlining that further increase in the already rising levels of global warming has the potential to cause irreversible damage to the climate, an expert stated in a Gaon Cafe session that measures taken during the course of next 15 years shall determine how critical the impact of climate change will be.
"This IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report basically asserts that the next fifteen years shall be crucial in deciding how bad the situation will be due to the changing climate," Anjal Prakash who is a lead author of the report told Gaon Connection. The second part of the Sixth Assessment Report titled Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was released by the Working Group II of the global body on February 27. The panel's Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change and options for adapting to it.
The expert who is also the Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Indian School of Business' Bharti Institute of Public Policy was invited as the guest speaker in the Gaon Cafe session which was hosted by Gaon Connection's Nidhi Jamwal.
Talking about the report's reading of the climate situation in India, Prakash said that the South Asian region is likely to experience an increased incidence of disasters linked with water-related crises.
"The increase in carbon emissions is being absorbed partially by the oceans which are becoming increasingly turbulent giving rise to more cyclones across the Indian coastline," Prakash said.
"Also, the glaciers are fast receding due to rising temperatures and all the major rivers in the South Asian region originate from these glaciers in the Himalayas. It will directly result in floods as well as an acute shortage of water availability across the region," he added.
Apart from the climatic changes causing floods, cyclones and water shortage, the expert also mentioned that the incidence of landslides in ecologically sensitive states like Uttarakhand are expected to be far more frequent in the years to come.
"It is seen that the landslides have occurred whenever there has been an extraordinary rainfall in a short period of time. These sudden precipitation events are likely to increase due to the changing weather patterns as a consequence of climate change," he said.
