Science-Wise: Pakistan Floods Brutal Reminder of How Indian Subcontinent Has Become a ‘Climate Crisis Hotspot’

More than 1,300 died, millions of neglected people and large amounts of agricultural land sinking; Pakistan faced one of its most devastating floods – the worst since 2010 – which has affected more than 33 million people. When the death toll continued to increase, destruction had sent a terrible reminder about how dangerous the impact of climate change on the Indian continent. Is that the intensity of the cyclone that grows in the ocean that warms up quickly, prolonged heat waves with records, severe drought, or disaster floods triggered by uncertain monsoon, consequences of more than 1.1 ° C above 1850-1900 Pre- Pre-industrial industry 1850-1900 above 1850-1900 Pre-Industry 1850-1900 1850-1900 1850-1900 1850-1900 1850 1850 1850 1850 Average today more clearly than before.

So to wait to act while maintaining an increase of 1.5 ° C or 2.0 ° C in global temperature as a “defense or support line”, well maybe it’s too late. The earth heats up, and affecting all natural systems is much faster than our ability to overcome them. Be prepared for the worst long-term threat to emerge from southwest monsoon, which is responsible for more than 70-80 percent of annual rain in a period of four months starting in June. This becomes more uncertain and vomiting surprises every year. Cities and cities that have never witnessed floods are increasingly inundated in a short extreme rainfall event. There are areas that remain dry for most seasons, but suddenly hit by heavy rain that lasted several days.

“More weather records will definitely be damaged, but everything will happen much earlier than we expect. It was very unusual how to depress back-to-back was formed in Bengal Bay this August, and all mapped the same road throughout India in the middle of Gujarat, carrying heavy rain and floods. One of the systems is also responsible for heavy rain in Pakistan, “said the former Head of the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) KJ Ramesh. When global temperature rises, the capacity of the atmospheric humidity holding also increases. So it lasts longer, and then suddenly throwing away all the humidity in a few hours to several days – which is exactly as we have witnessed.

The climate model has long warned the increase in the frequency, spatial level and severity of floods above the Himalaya Utama River Basin, including Indus, Gangga and Brahmaputra. In its report in 2020, the Ministry of Earth Science also raised concerns over an increase in the risk of flooding over India due to uncertain monsoon. While forecasting such events is very important to prepare a disaster management plan, not much is done to take our current stock of resources and supporting systems. The flood situation in Odisha was exacerbated after the Hirakud Dam gate was opened, soaking hundreds of villages. Bengaluru showed how the storm water drainage system crushed in the heavy rain. Natural buffer wetlands and flood plains disappear.

CLIMATE ACTION PLANS

After a series of disasters recently, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called South Asia the “Climate Crustot Hotspot”-a vulnerable region where people “15 times more likely died due to climate impacts”. “The geographical location – surrounded by tropical waters at one end and the Himalayan at the other end is the expertise of the region, but no longer. The Indian Ocean heats up at the fastest level, and Himalayan glaciers also melt quickly, “agreed Dr. Roxy Matthew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. With several states and cities now working on their climate action plans, need to be accelerated. Long -term policies are needed that can prove the manufacture of homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and property when climate challenges are increasing. More than eight million hectares of land area are influenced by flooding alone in India every year, and the impact on livelihoods and food safety as a whole is severe when combined with drought.

But all of this cannot be achieved without global commitment to reduce emissions, and financial support to the most vulnerable countries to prepare and equip themselves from the future disasters. “We have seen an increase of 1.1 ° C at the average global temperature and its impact. We will reach 1.5 ° C in 2040 and 2 ° C in 2060. This is not far in the future but is ongoing. The heating rate is now accelerated so we need urgent action. Climate and adaptation action at the local level must be parallel to mitigation at the global and national level, “added senior scientists.

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