CLIMATE CHANGE

Over the past 150 years, weve changed the balance

of our planet by living beyond our means. Weve
burnt huge amounts of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil,
gas), bred huge amounts of methane- producing
livestock and cut down vast swathes of forests,
which would naturally absorb carbon dioxide from
the air.
Climate change is affecting our brilliant planet in lots
of ways!
CLIMATE CHANGE AND FORESTS

Most people know how vital forests are they soak

up carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas
responsible for global warming, and help regulate
the worlds climate. Theyre also home to countless
plant and animal species. Were working with
communities, local governments and businesses to
ensure the worlds forests are protected.
HOW FORESTS ARE AFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

Sub-Arctic boreal forests are likely to be particularly

badly affected, with tree lines gradually retreating
north as temperatures rise.
In tropical forests such as the Amazon, where
theres abundant biodiversity, even modest
levels of climate change can cause high levels of
extinction.
IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION

When large areas of forest are destroyed whether

razed for commercial reasons or dried by a warming
climate its disastrous for the local species and
communities that rely on them. Its also bad for all
life on Earth.
Dying trees emit their stores of carbon dioxide,
adding to atmospheric greenhouse gases and
setting us on a course for runaway global warming.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER

Climate change is having serious impacts on the

worlds water systems through more flooding and
droughts. Warmer air can hold a higher water
content, which makes rainfall patterns more
extreme.
RIVERS AND LAKES

Rivers and lakes supply drinking water for people

and animals - and are a vital resource for farming
and industry.
Freshwater environments around the world are
already under excessive pressure from drainage,
dredging, damming, pollution, extraction, silting and
invasive species.
Climate change - combined with these stresses -
makes impacts worse. Extremes of drought and
flooding will become more common, causing
displacement and conflict.
MELTING GLACIERS

In mountainous regions, melting glaciers are

impacting on freshwater ecosystems. Himalayan
glaciers feed great Asian rivers such as the Yangtze,
Yellow, Ganges, Mekong and Indus. Over a billion
people rely on these glaciers for drinking water,
sanitation, agriculture and hydroelectric power.

Oceans
Oceans are vital carbon sinks meaning that they
absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide, preventing
it from reaching the upper atmosphere.
But increased water temperatures and higher carbon
dioxide concentrations than normal, which make
oceans more acidic, are already having an impact.
IMPACTS ON OUR CORAL REEFS
Coral reefs are particularly at risk. Sensitive coral
and algae that live on it are starved of oxygen,
causing dramatic bleaching and possibly the
eventual death of the coral.
If global warming remains on its upward path, by
2050 just 5% of Australias Great Barrier Reef the
worlds largest coral reef will remain.
Its not only a tragedy for wildlife: around half a
billion people rely on fish from coral reefs as their
main source of protein.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR REGIONS

Climate change is amplified in the polar regions. The

Earths north and south extremities are crucial for
regulating our planets climate and are particularly
vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. The
impacts in the polar regions caused by climate
change have global consequences.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ARCTIC

Average air temperatures in the region have

increased by about 5C over the last 100 years.
Recent data supports the view held by many polar
scientists that therell be almost no summer sea ice
cover left in the Arctic in the next few decades.
This has severe implications not just loss of habitat
that polar bears and seals depend on, and knock-on
effects on local people, but also dramatic changes to
the entire northern hemisphere.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ANTARCTICA

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest single mass of

ice on Earth. It covers almost 14 million sq km and
contains 30 million cubic km of ice accounting for
around 90% of all fresh water on the Earths surface.
This ice plays a vitally important role in influencing
the worlds climate, reflecting back the suns energy
and helping to regulate global temperatures.
SEA LEVEL RISE

Parts of the west Antarctic Peninsula are among the

fastest-warming places on Earth. Although the
Antarctic ice sheets are unlikely to melt entirely,
even small-scale melting is likely to have significant
effects on global sea level rise.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WILDLIFE

Global warming is likely to be the greatest cause of

species extinctions this century. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says a
1.5C average rise may put 20-30% of species at
risk of extinction. If the planet warms by more than
3C, most ecosystems will struggle.
Many of the worlds threatened species live in areas
that will be severely affected by climate change. And
climate change is happening too quickly for many
species to adapt.

Affects on India

Climate change will make monsoons unpredictable.

As a result, rain-fed wheat cultivation in South Asia
will suffer in a big way. Total cereal production will
go down. The crop yield per hectare will be hit badly,
causing food insecurity and loss of livelihood.

The rising levels of the sea in the coastal areas will

damage nursery areas for fisheries, causing coastal
erosion and flooding.

The Arctic regions, Sub-Saharan Africa, small

islands and Asian mega deltas, including the Ganga
and Brahmaputra, will be affected most.
There are also predictions of huge coastal erosion
due to a rise in sea levels of about 40 cm resulting
from faster melting of glaciers in the Himalayan and
Hindukush ranges. It can affect half-a-million people
in India because of excessive flooding in coastal
areas and also can increase the salinity of ground
water in the Sunderbans and surface water in
coastal areas.

Stopping Climate Change

India accounts for 4.5 percent of the worlds

greenhouse gases, so it plays a crucial role in
combating climate change. And, because of the
risks of flooding and high temperatures, perhaps no
country has a greater incentive to slow global
warming.
India has taken several steps in the imple-mentation
of Clean Development Mechanism projects in the
country. The feasibility of using electricity and
battery-operated vehicles is also being explored.
Efforts are being made to extract energy from urban
and industrial waste. The use of cheap plastic bags
should be substituted with eco-friendly plastics. In
areas of water scarcity, drought-proofing measures
through water storage and rainwater harvesting can
be applied.
Similarly, techniques to clean the fumes and smokes
in cars and other vehicles should be introduced.
Afforestation, preventing the felling of immature and
young tress, and creating awareness amongst the
local people about the importance of forests may
help in conserving biological diversity. Recycling of
fossil fuels can be the safest way to ensure conser-
vation of minerals.
Climate change is the defining issue of our times. It
should be addressed by all countries with a shared
perspective, free from narrow and myopic
considerations. We urgently need a new economic
paradigm, which is global, inclusive, cooperative,
environmentally sensitive and, above all, scientific.
Sustainable development based on addressing the
needs of the poor and optimal harnessing of scarce
resources of water, air, energy, land, and bio-
diversity will have to be sustained through more
cooperative endeavours.
Then alone we could make some headway in saving
our lone planet from the brink of climate disasters.
And the world needs to realize that controlling this
phenomenon is not just the work of India but more
so the work of other countries as well.
Climate change is not of our making, Modi said at
the United Nations 2015 climate change talks in
Paris. It is the result of global warming that came
from the prosperity and progress of an industrial age
powered by fossil fuel. But we in India face its
consequences today. We see it in the risks of our
farmers, the changes in weather patterns, and the
intensity of natural disasters.