Climate Change Threatens India's Economy and Food Security: IPCC Report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group II report — 'Climate Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability' lists India under one of those countries that will be economically harmed the most by climate change.

The study, which was issued on Monday, February 28th, sets the tone for the "unmistakable" implications of climate change driven by human greenhouse gas emissions, which is harming nature and putting human cultures at risk.

What Does This Imply for India?

According to the analysis, India might be one of the places where heat and humidity exceed human tolerance levels.

Wet-bulb temperatures, a metric that combines heat and humidity, are mentioned in the study. (A wet-bulb temperature of 31°C is exceedingly harmful for humans, while a temperature of 35°C, even for fit and healthy individuals sitting in the shade, is unsurvivable for more than 6 hours.)

India is also one of the countries most at risk from rising sea levels. Around 35 million people in India might experience yearly coastal flooding by the middle of the century, with 45-50 million at danger by the end of the century if emissions remain high. If emissions are reduced, the hazards are greatly reduced.

"India's food production and security would be seriously harmed as a result of climate change's wide spectrum of effects. When disasters strike throughout the world, worldwide supply chains, markets, and trade are all impacted, resulting in economic shocks."

Climate change may also imply that by 2050, around 40% of Indians may face water scarcity, up from roughly 33% now. If global warming exceeds 1.5°C, flooding in the Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins might increase. According to the survey, India is also the most susceptible country in terms of agricultural output. Yields of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse grains, and cereals might drop by about 9% by 2050. If emissions stay high, maize production in the South might drop by 17%. Adaptation strategies for Indian cities, on the other hand, presently focus on only one or two threats, neglecting the compounding nature of calamities like tropical cyclones that coincide with heat waves and urban droughts.

According to the research, when risks rise, local communities' adaptive ability, particularly that of low-income marginalised people, would be jeopardised.

Risks to the Global Community

People in every corner of the globe are already suffering from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of climate change, according to the study, which was finalised and accepted by 270 authors and 195 countries. However, these repercussions are becoming increasingly complicated and difficult to manage. For example, Asian nations are experiencing a hotter summer temperature, resulting in a significant increase in energy demand for cooling. Desalination, underground water pumping, and other energy-intensive processes are increasingly employed for water delivery, therefore a decrease in precipitation has an impact on energy consumption. Eleven of Asia's thirteen emerging countries with significant energy consumption are vulnerable to energy instability and industrial system failure.

"Even if temperatures are later decreased by steps to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, temperature rises over 1.5°C would result in irreversible loss of whole ecosystems".

Ahead of Schedule

Adaptation to climate change is critical, according to the research, but it is not a substitute for emission reductions if global warming continues.Furthermore, a lack of international adaptation money is a significant barrier impeding nations throughout the world from responding to climate change.While global climate money has risen in recent years, it is still insufficient to satisfy the adaptation requirements of poorer nations, according to the research.

“IPCC reports are like alarm bells for the climate crisis. This latest report is a sobering reminder that our global failure to cut emissions is leading to devastating health, economic, and social impacts around the world. But the report is also a reminder that we have the power to change this."

"Christiana Figueres, Co-Founder Global Optimism, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

"Near-term interventions that restrict global warming to close to 1.5°C would significantly minimise expected losses and damages associated to climate change in human systems and ecosystems, but cannot remove them entirely," the paper warns. Nonetheless, the most pressing challenge at hand is to establish development circumstances that allow people and environment to cope with the effects of climate change in a sustainable and fair manner.