22 May 2023 – The Indian Express

Feeling the Heat

Context:

• The World Meteorological Organisation stated on May 17 that for the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to break 1.5°C (2.7°F) of warming within the next five years. However, it did not follow that the world will reach the 1.5°C above preindustrial levels long-term warming threshold outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Global Warming Status:

• The annual mean temperature in 2016 was 1.28 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times (the average of the 1850–1900 era), making it the warmest year ever.
• The year 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record since 2021, 1.15 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial normal.
• The past ten years were the warmest in Indian history.
• In the past 100 years, the sea level has risen 4 to 8 inches, and in the following 100 years, it will increase another 4 to 36 inches.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that in order to keep global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F), greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and then be reduced by 43% by 2030;
• In 2020, the average global per-person GHG emissions were 6.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). At 2.4 tCO2e, India continues to be considerably below the global average.
• According to IPCC, keeping CO2 emissions within a 580 GtCO2 remaining carbon budget means that carbon neutrality will be reached in around 30 years, and 20 years with a 420 GtCO2 remaining carbon budget.

Potential repercussions of going above the 1.5 degree Paris Agreement target:

Impacts in the Short Term:

• Extreme Events: Modifications to the pattern of rainfall
• For instance, the 2018 Kerala floods and the 2015 Chennai floods
• Last year, the Indian monsoon began early and ended earlier than usual.
• In June, there were floods in Northeast India, followed by a dry spell.
• More than 30 million people were affected by the floods in Pakistan, which killed 1500 lives.
• In Europe, heat waves caused record-breaking temperatures, which reduced river flows and caused draughts.
• America’s August was the warmest on record.
• In Australia and the US, forest fires were raging.

Deadly diseases were caused by global warming:

• ANTHRAX: In 2016, the first anthrax outbreak since 1941 was brought on by a reindeer carcass that had been frozen for 75 years. In Siberia, the outbreak infected 13 people and claimed the lives of around 2,000 reindeer.
• ZIKA: The quicker they mature from eggs to adults and the quicker viruses can incubate, the warmer the environment.
• Previously exclusive to the tropics, diseases are now spreading far beyond the equator to the United States and other countries.
• ZOMBIE DISEASES: After lying dormant for thousands of years, Neanderthal viruses, smallpox, or other ancient diseases, could once again be released into the environment.
• TICK-BORNE DISEASE: Ticks are another disease carrier, similar to mosquitoes, and as the climate changes and summers get longer and hotter, they’ll probably relocate to new areas and become more active. The prevalence of the tick-borne illness babesiosis has been rising in the US.
• DEADLY CHOLERA: Because the bacterial illness, which causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration, is drawn to warm weather and warm water, outbreaks may become more frequent as a result of climate change.
• Impact on food security: Irrigation, insolation, and insect prevalence will be affected by climate change brought on by global warming.
• The variability of agricultural productivity will probably grow with the frequency of drought, flood, storm, and cyclones.
• While crops in lower latitudes will suffer from mild warming (an increase of 1 to 3°C in mean temperature), crop yields in temperate regions may benefit.

Impacts in the Long and Medium Term:

• Sea Level Rise: Glacier and ice cap melting, as well as thermal sea expansion, all contribute to rising sea levels.
• The world’s productive coastal and delta regions will be inundated to a degree of almost one third.
• Land nearby will deteriorate as a result of saline water incursions.
• Such locations’ groundwater will no longer function.
• Coastal cities with a high population density will be flooded by the sea.
• The Carteret Islands, which are in the Pacific Ocean northeast of Papua New Guinea, and the Tuvalu Islands, which are in the South Pacific around 1000 km north of Fiji, are two of the islands that are affected. Islands like these have the greatest influence.
• Source of Carbon: As a result of climate change, permafrost melts, releasing carbon as carbon dioxide and methane, much like the tundra.
• It suggests that the effects of global warming are amplified.
• Loss of Biodiversity: Species extinction caused by loss of terrestrial habitat, loss of planktons, and coral bleaching events in marine areas

Actions taken on a global scale:

• A historic environmental agreement, the Paris Agreement (also known as the Conference of Parties 21 or COP 21), was adopted in 2015 to address climate change and its detrimental effects.
• It took the place of the former climate change pact known as the Kyoto Protocol.
• In order to keep the rise in global temperatures this century well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and to keep it to 1.5°C by 2100, it intends to cut global GHG emissions.
• More than 180 nations had already sent in their intentions to reduce their carbon emissions, known as INDCs, prior to the start of the summit.
• The INDCs were acknowledged by the agreement, but they are not enforceable.
• A system called REDD+—Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation—was created by UNFCCC Parties.
• In order to provide incentives for developing countries to cut emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon pathways, it sets a financial value for the carbon contained in forests.
• For activities based on results, the developing countries will be compensated.
• ISA, the International Solar Alliance
• There are 123 signatory nations to this alliance, the majority of which are subtropical nations that are entirely or partially located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
• The alliance’s main goal is to promote efficient solar energy use in order to lessen reliance on fossil fuels.
• In a speech at Wembley Stadium (London, HA9 0WS, United Kingdom) in November 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first put up this plan. He referred to sun-drenched nations as Suryaputra (“Sons of the Sun”) in that speech.
• The alliance is an intergovernmental group based on treaties. With the exception of voting rights, nations outside the Tropics are welcome to join the alliance and take use of all its benefits.

Actions taken by India:

National Climate Change Action Plan:

• FAME Scheme for E-mobility: In an effort to increase the country’s sales of environmentally friendly automobiles, the Union Government established the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric automobiles (FAME) – India Scheme in April 2015. The National Mission for Electric Mobility includes it.
• Smart Cities Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
• Five crore individuals who live below the poverty line receive LPG connections through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana programme. The connections are provided in the names of women beneficiaries in an effort to lessen their reliance on traditional fuels like cow dung and fossil fuels for cooking, which in turn will lessen air pollution.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the UJALA programme in January 2015 with the goal of replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. Utilising LED bulbs will not only lower electricity costs but also contribute to environmental sustainability.