ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CLIMATE CHANGE Case study

By: Akshara Ajith B090785EC Roll No.05 S5 ECE Batch: A

CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is one of the greatest environmental issues of our time. We need to act quickly and take advantage of existing solutions to prevent damage to our planet. Natural ecosystems provide significant opportunities to cut emissions dramatically and to preserve the adaptive potential of our biosphere.

GOAL: Curbing emissions and adapting to change

Many factors are contributing to climate change, from fossil fuel use to the burning and clearing of tropical forests. We need a comprehensive approach to reduce the impacts of climate change an approach that decreases emissions across all sectors and enhances the adaptive capacity of all nations. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and stabilizing atmospheric concentrations at 350-450 parts per million CO2 equivalent (ppm CO2) is essential. The current GHG level is approximately 390 ppm CO2. Scientists have estimated that lowering concentrations to 350 ppm may enable us to avert tipping points of ocean acidification and the melting of permafrost and arctic ice. Stabilization at 450 ppm is thought to be the threshold to avoid dangerous warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius, which would bring potentially catastrophic impacts for natural and human communities alike. We are already seeing changing weather patterns impacting food production and species migration. Fresh water scarcity risks becoming even more acute in drought-stricken countries and flooding may increasingly threaten our coastal communities and directly impact hundreds of thousands of people each year. Conflict is increasing over strained ecosystems and local communities are being forced from their homes. Solutions are needed now. Our ecosystems must be able to adapt to these changes so that they can retain productivity, continue to adjust to extreme

weather events and provide fresh water. In addition, human communities need the knowledge and tools to effectively adapt to the impacts of climate change.

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE:

India is ranked as the worlds most vulnerable country apart from Bangladesh. With climatic zones ranging from the Himalayas to the humid sub-tropics of South India, with 5,700km of mainland coastline and 400 million people living in conditions of extreme poverty, India is fully exposed to the hazards of global warming. The Indian government commissioned a major study into the effects of climate change by its own scientists. The Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) published its report towards the end of 2010. Focusing on impacts predicted as early as the 2030s, the results make disturbing reading for government planners. Average temperature across the country is predicted to rise by at least 1.7C from a 1970s baseline. Indias most respected plant scientist, Professor M.S.Swaminathan, estimates that each one degree Celsius rise in temperature reduces the wheat growing season by a week. The volume of rainfall is predicted to increase, but with greater variability and risk of flooding or drought. This is the prospect of greatest concern to small farmers. Sea level has been rising at 1.33mm per annum, a rate likely to increase and exceed predictions of UN scientists. Studies suggest that a one metre rise in sea level would displace over 7 million people, threaten freshwater supplies and the concentration of industry and infrastructure. Three of the worlds major cities Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai must contemplate this risk. Much attention focuses on the observed retreat of Himalayan glaciers, the source region for Indias three major rivers. The INCCA(Indian Network for climate change assessment) report anticipates an increase in water run-off in the Himalayan region of 5%-20%. Beyond the 2030s, the 500 million people living in the catchments of the Ganges and Indus rivers may experience diminishing water availability in summer.

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON INDIAN ECONOMY:

(1).Agriculture:

Climate change can adversely impact the production of crops like wheat, rice and pulses in India and the government needs to educate farmers in this regard, Nobel Laureate and Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman, R K Pachauri, said. Agriculture production is direct dependence on climate change and weather, is one of the widely studied sector in the context of climate change. The possible changes in temperature, precipitation and CO2 concentration are expected to significant impact on crop growth. There are two ways to climate change can affect the food production system. One is direct and another is indirect. In direct changes through temperature, water balance and atmospheric composition as well as extreme weather events and indirectly changes through in the distribution, frequently and severity of pest and disease outbreaks, incidence of fire and in soil properties. These direct and indirect effects on agricultural system will not only responding to climate change but through fluctuating yield have a negative impact on production and distribution. The social-economic impacts associated with the above physical impact on crops will be influenced by the interaction between producer and consumer behaviour as well as the possible adaptation that farmers could undertake in response to climate change. (2).Forests: Climate is an important determinant of the geographical distribution, composition and productivity of forests. Forest area would be affected by climate depends on various factors like species and age of trees, possibilities for forests to migrate, and quality of forest management .Climate change over forestry turn to have profound implications for traditional livelihood, industry, biodiversity, soil and water resources and these leads to changes in

agricultural productivity. Most of the estimates of the forestry sector have been carried out without considering the influence of land use changes in the future. Forests have a large capacity to stock the sequester carbon. Increasing level of carbon loads to increase the Net Primary Productivity of forests. So that Net Primary Productivity and Carbon have a direct relationship. But some forests are also likely to disappear due to higher temperature and an increase in the number of pests and pathogens. But the how is the net effect from these phenomena on the level of carbon is not yet found clear from existing research. Climate will have the greatest impact on boreal forests

(3). Aquatic Ecosystems: Aquatic ecosystems include lakes and streams, non-tidal wetlands, coastal environs, and oceans. Temperature increases caused by climate change may due to the diversity and geographical distribution of species, the productivity of organism in ecosystem and the mixing priorities of lakes. Increase in air temperature of -- can shift the geographic range of species by about 150 km. Most favourable effects of warming will be felt at high latitude, where biological productivity and species diversity are likely to increase. Most significant negative effect will be experience by cold or cool water species in low latitudes where extinction is likely to increase and biodiversity will decline. Climate change will affect biological, biogeochemical and hydrological functions of wetlands. An increasing our temperature could affect the wetland by thawing permafrost, which is crucial for maintaining the water table in ecosystem. Economically and ecologically important coastal ecosystems are significantly damaged from climate change effects, such as sea level rise, changes in atmospheric temperature and variation in the rainfall patterns. And many valuable economic and ecological functions including tourism, fisheries, storm and floodwater protection and biodiversity would be threatened by climate change. (4). Water Resources: Impact estimation of water resources is complex because of the interaction of various climate as well as non-climate factors. Hydrological models show that water availability could vary widely among nations and within nations.

Experts also not able to project whether human water supply system will advance sufficiently to counteract the anticipated negative impact of climate change and increased demand. Some of the factors such as vegetation, projected water demand, population complicate to assess the impact of climate change on water resources. However, on the basis of general circulation models have significant impact on regional water supplies. So far these model have capable to providing only larger scale geographical projections. The impact of climate change on water resources will affect human wellbeing to various digress, depending on how country-specific water management methods can accommodate such change.

(5). Human Health: As the quality of life strongly depends on climate, climate change would affect human amenity. Though warm climate is generally preferred over cooler climate, if the warming were beyond optimal temperature, it would have adverse effects. The vulnerability of human health is depends on function of causative factors. But the causative factors depend on nutrition status, population health, and health infrastructure. These factors are relatively poor in the developing countries, so that health impacts due to climate change in these countries are expected to be more adverse. One of the major direct health impacts of climate change would be an increase in heart-related deaths and illness (primarily from cardio respiratory failure). Studies have been shown that heart-related deaths could increase because of climate change, at the same time deaths due to cold weather conditions would decrease as a result of global warming. The indirect effect of climate change would expansion of the area under the influence of the malaria mosquito, these leads to increased global population exposed to malaria from current 45% to 60% by the latter half of the next century. However actual increase in the number of people with malariaestimated to be between 50 and 80 million. (6). Climate change can lead to migration also: The climate change is also expected to lead to increased migration of people within national boundaries, mainly into mega cities. The study found that climate change-induced threats to Asia's agriculture and energy would

contribute significantly to migration within national boundaries.

SOLUTION: ecosystems

Protection

and

sustainable

management

of

natural

Protecting the Earth's ecosystems can yield immediate, cost-effective climate change solutions that will be forever lost if we do not take immediate action. For example, the burning and clearing of tropical forests is a major though often unrecognized source of greenhouse gas emissions. It accounts for roughly 16 percent of total global emissions, more than all of the world's cars, trucks, ships, trains and planes combined. It is now generally recognized that it will be impossible to achieve any of the needed targets for mitigating climate change without significantly curbing the clearing and burning of tropical forests. In fact, reducing global deforestation by 50 percent by 2020 offers nearly one-third of the cost-effective, technologically available options to meet 450 ppm stabilization targets. In addition, intact forests and other natural ecosystems including wetlands, peatlands, coral reefs and mangroves also reduce the risk of impacts like floods and droughts, contribute to food and freshwater security for both rural and urban communities, allow for species migration and ecological adaptation, and support the livelihoods of indigenous and local communities. Maintaining these ecosystems will ensure that humans and other species can remain as resilient as possible to the impacts of climate change.

REFERENCES:

(1). http://envfor.nic.in/cc/index.htm
(2). http://www.unep.org/climatechange/ (3). http://www.incca.org/ (4). http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/22/16/1934784.pdf