How India is threatened by climate change

To the Huffington Post : ” A new report says India could be 2 degrees Celsius warmer than 1970s levels within 20 years – a change that would disrupt rain cycles and wreak havoc on the country’s agriculture and freshwater supplies.”

(…) ” More flooding, more drought and a spreading of malaria would occur, as the disease migrates northward into Kashmir and the Himalayas, according to the report by 220 Indian scientists and 120 research institutions.”

Heavily reliant on coal for its electricity, it is ready to invest no less than $2.3 trillion in low carbon technologies. Here is a country that understood how critical acting on climate change is.

Here is another extract of the article :

The new report by the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment exceeds U.N. expert predictions that suggested India could be 2 degrees warmer by 2050.

“There is no country in the world that is as vulnerable, on so many dimensions, to climate change as India is,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a statement released with the report on Tuesday. “We must continue this focus on rigorous climate change science.”

India’s many ecosystems and proximity to the equator make it particularly sensitive to climate change, experts say. The fact most of the country relies on freshwater sources, rather than desalinating sea water, amplifies the threat of global warming on society.

The report also says sea levels will continue to rise, threatening India’s more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) of coastline.

Mangrove forests along West Bengal’s coastlines “would definitely go underwater,” said Sidarth Pathak, a climate policy official with Greenpeace India. Coastal cities such as Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai might also face a threat, he said.

“This study enables India to look at its need to adapt to change,” Pathak said. “It will put pressure on the Indian government and international governments to act, and show that India is a vulnerable country.”

For more, please check out the official website.