A new report found that more than 75% of India’s tropical areas have extreme weather events. With an unusual increase in the worst cases since 2005, these regions are bearing the brunt of changing the microclimate with loss of property, livelihoods and livelihoods. Following a report by the United Nations Environment Program’s Emissions Gap Report 2020 that warned on Wednesday that the earth was heading for temperatures above 3 degrees C this century, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report showed that even with a temperature of 0.6 degree C in the last century, India is experiencing devastating consequences.
When India witnessed 250 extreme weather events (droughts, floods, hurricanes and flood-related incidents) between 1970 and 2005, it recorded 310 extreme weather events after 2005. A report released Thursday also found the worst weather change. Incidents such as flood-prone areas were severely affected by the drought and alternatively in more than 40% of the districts.
The pattern reflects global trends
Severe weather conditions caused by climate change have resulted in the death of 495,000 people worldwide in 1999-2018. More than 12,000 extreme weather events resulted in losses costing USD 3.54 trillion (measured in terms of purchasing power or PPP) during this period. A CEEW report entitled: Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events estimated that 97.51 million people are at risk of severe flooding in India. There has been a sudden increase in the number of catastrophic floods since 2005. Between 1970 and 2004, 3 catastrophic floods occurred annually on average, but after 2005, the annual average rose to 11. Similarly, the annual average of flood-affected regions until 2005 was 19, but after 2005 it jumped to 55.
An intelligent analysis of the year shows that changes in microclimate processes have changed the frequency and pattern of extreme flood events. Six of India’s eight worst-hit states over the past decade – Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Sivasagar – were located in Assam.
After 2005, the average annual number of storm-hit regions tripled and the frequency of storms doubled. Over the past decade, 258 regions have been affected by tropical cyclones such as Chennai, Cuttack, East Godavari, Ganjam, Nellore, North 24 Parganas, Puri, and Srikakulam – all along the east coast. Global warming of the east coast microclimate region, land use change, and deforestation are creating cyclonic activity in the region, says the author.
The analysis shows that the decade of 2000–2009 showed growth in severe flood events and related flood events, affecting approximately 473 regions. The combined effects of landslides, the occurrence of urban tropical island, and rising sea levels due to melting glaciers lead to increased cyclonic disturbances, thus increasing the number of floods that occur during the decade and making them more out of place.
Some of the worst events are associated with monsoon weakness. “The strongest evidence for our analysis is the weakening of the storms as a result of global warming. This could also confirm that regions such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh experienced severe water shortages in 2015 due to temperatures that broke record records in summer and declining rains, “the report said.
Key Findings
• More than 75 percent of the regions of India, home to more than 638 million people, are the hotspots for climate change.
• Between 1970 and 2005, there were 250 extreme events. The post-2005 period recorded 310 horrific incidents and related events, including slow-moving events such as heat waves and cold waves.
• After 2005, at least 55 regions or more experienced catastrophic floods each year, affecting 97.51 million people a year.
• The year 2005 recorded the highest times for floods, with 140 floods affecting 69 regions. The number of affected districts has risen to 151 by 2019.
• Frequent flood-related events such as landslides, heavy rainfall, hail, thunderstorms, and volcanic eruptions that changed more than 20 times between 1970 and 2019.
• Over the past 15 years, 79 regions have reported severe drought events each year, exposing 140.06 million people a year. The annual average of drought-stricken regions has increased 13 times this season.
• After 2005, 24 counties experienced catastrophic typhoons each year, placing 42.50 million people in hurricane trees, severe storms, and associated events.
• In the last ten years alone, hurricanes have hit 258 regions.
• Tropical regions – Puri, Chennai, Nellore, North 24 Parganas, Ganjam, Cuttack, East Godavari, and Srikakulum – centered on the east coast. The warming of the east coast region, changes in land use, and deforestation have contributed to the cyclogenesis process in the region.
The pattern of extreme events such as flood-prone areas is often dry and vice versa has changed by more than 40 percent in the Indian subcontinent.
