Climate Change in India

Climate change can be considered to be the variations in the average temperature of Earth as well as weather patterns which are basically long-term.

Climate change is nothing but the long-term variations in the earth’s average temperature as well as in the average weather patterns which are found to assign directly or indirectly to human activities. In this regard, it can be said that the accumulation of several greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and so many in the atmosphere due to human activities like the burning of fossil fuels and others, are the main cause of the alteration of the earth’s climate system. In India, as a large part of the population depends on climate-sensitive sectors such as fishery, agriculture and so many others for their subsistence, climate change is the most significant area to be concerned about. There are several impacts of climate change in India such as a rise in ocean temperature, hotter summers, increased number of storms and so many others.  

Definition of climate change

Climate change in India is the most important environmental challenge due to its adverse effects such as a rise in temperature as well as the reduction in rainfall severely impacting the livelihood in the country. Climate change is nothing but long-term major variations in the earth’s average temperature as well as weather patterns due to several human activities. The temperature of India is found to increase by a large amount during the past decades. Thus changes in the climate took place in India. On the other hand, India is found to achieve the third position in the world for greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, India should be concerned about climate change as a major part of its population depends on several climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, Fishery as well as many more. As India is a developing country, the ecological, as well as socio-economic systems of India, are already under pressure due to speedy industrialization, urbanization as well as other development. In this regard, it can be said that climate change in India can include extra stress on the ecological as well as socio-economic systems of India.    

Correlation between global warming and climate change

Climate change basically refers to long-term variations in the earth’s temperature as well as weather patterns. Moreover, these variations can be natural due to variations in the solar cycle. But in the last few decades, the greenhouse effect is found to be the main driver of climate change in India as well as globally. Greenhouse gases are responsible for trapping the sun’s heat and preventing it from scuttling back into scope thus causing global warming. Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, the concentration of greenhouse gases is increasing in rapid amounts and causing global warming. It has been found that restricting the global temperature rise within 1.5°C, helps in avoiding the major climate impacts as well as sustaining a livable climate. 

Greenhouse gases

Global warming potential

Methane

28-36

Carbon dioxide

1

Nitrous oxide

265-298

Sulfur hexafluoride

22,800

Fluorinated gases

Some are assigned a GWP of 1800-8000 and some have a GWP of 10,000.

Greenhouse gas emissions from India

Due to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, climate change is rising rapidly in India. In this regard, it can be stated that the “Compounded Annual Growth Rate” of carbon dioxide identical emissions from India is found to portray an overall increase by a large percentage annually. The maximum growth in greenhouse gases emissions from the industrial process is about 21.3% annually as well as from the waste sector is about 7.3% annually. On the contrary, there is a significant growth in emissions noticed in the energy sector annually. 

Impacts of climate change in India

Climate change is found to smash the weather patterns, lead to intense droughts and floods as well as increase the number of storms in India. In this regard, it is said that the agriculture of India is highly affected by climate change. Moreover, scarcity of food and water can be created by climate change in India. Changes in temperature severely affect the safe levels of the ecosystem as well as human survival. Many species are washed away due to climate change in India.    

New targets of India regarding climate consciousness

India is found to set its goal regarding the achievement of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by the year 2030. On the other hand, India is working on fulfilling its 50 percent of energy demands from renewable energy by the year 2030. Moreover, it can be said that India is found to set a goal regarding achieving a reduction in carbon emissions by one billion tons from the current year onwards till the year 2030. Moreover, India is working on reducing the carbon intensity of its economy as well as setting a target of net-zero carbon footprint by 2070.

Conclusion

Taking everything into consideration it can be said that the discussion on climate change in India has provided a clear understanding of several impacts of climate change. How the term global warming is connected with climate change has also been mentioned. The overview of climate change in India has successfully been represented here with several perspectives.

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Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the MPPSC Examination Preparation.

What are the main intimidations of climate change?

Ans : The main intimations of climate change include rising sea levels, melting polar ice, severe d...Read full

What is the rank of India in carbon dioxide emissions in 2021?

Ans : India ranks 3rd in the global list with 6.8% of the total worldwide emissions.

What is India’s rank in the index of global climate risk?

Ans : India ranks 7th in global climate risk.