MONSOON AND CLIMATE CHANGE – GEOGRAPHY
News: Monsoon fury 2023: Climate change makes extreme events new normal
What's in the news?
● The onset of 2023 was marked by scorching temperatures that shattered a 123-year-old record in February. The months that followed saw the intensification of extreme weather events.
● Scientists have identified the influence of climate change in exacerbating these occurrences, with April and June experiencing a heatwave that was made 30 times more likely due to global warming.
Monsoon:
● The climate of India is described as the ‘monsoon’ type. In Asia, this type of climate is found mainly in the south and the southeast.
● Out of a total of 4 seasonal divisions of India, monsoon occupies 2 divisions, namely.
● The southwest monsoon season - Rainfall received from the southwest monsoons is seasonal in character, which occurs between June and September.
● The retreating monsoon season - The months of October and November are known for retreating monsoons.
● India has been in the grip of the south-west monsoon, the rainy season, which lasts from June to September and provides 75 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall.
● The rains irrigate more than half of India’s farmland and are crucial for its agriculture sector, which contributes about 20 percent of GDP.
What is climate change?
● Climate change describes a change in the average conditions such as temperature and rainfall in a region over a long period of time.
● Climate change is affecting numerous natural systems from snow-clad mountains to tropical oceans. Some of these waters are warming up.
● In particularly warm weather caused by climate change, such as in El Niño years, sea surface temperatures increase.
● When the water’s temperature exceeds a seasonal threshold for at least five consecutive days, it means a marine heatwave is occurring.
● Marine heatwaves can affect weather patterns as well, because sea surface temperatures are linked to atmospheric pressure and wind patterns. However, such impacts caused by marine heatwaves in the Indian Ocean are not too well-known.
● The heatwaves have different impacts on the monsoon in different regions. Strong monsoon winds weaken when they interact with marine heatwaves in both the western Indian Ocean and northern Bay of Bengal, resulting in dry spells over central India.
● The heatwaves over the Bay of Bengal cause excess rainfall in southern India.
Impacts of Monsoonal variations due to Climate Change:
1. Rainfall variation:
● Due to climate change, Not only has the mean monsoon rainfall declined, but also extreme precipitation events and dry spells have increased.
● In India Region wise the rainfall has varied due to climate change. Rainfall levels in the North-East region have decreased and the north west region has faced higher rainfall than LPA (long period average).
● Rainfall has been deficient in Uttar Pradesh (45% below the LPA), Manipur (43% below), Bihar (42%), Jharkhand (28%), Tripura (28%), West Bengal (20%) and Nagaland (20%).
● At the same time, nine states have received excess to large excess rainfall. Major crop growers Tamil Nadu and Telangana have received rainfall 67% and 57% above the LPA, respectively.
2. More flooding events:
● In the last five years flash floods and cloud burst events have occurred frequently.
● More cyclonic formation has also been occurring frequently than normal level in surrounding seas.
3. Changing crop pattern:
● In India 75% of the agricultural lands have relied on monsoon.
● Due to climate change and its related extreme climate pattern have affected the crop sowing cycle, harvest period and storage condition.
4. Affect food security:
● Most of the kharif sowing is completed by mid-August. The problem is not overall precipitation as much as the distribution of the southwest monsoon rains
● The patchy progress of the southwest monsoon this year has cast a long shadow on India’s kharif crop produce, particularly of rice, which is an important constituent of the government’s food distribution programmes.
● The threat comes right after wheat production in the rabi season took a hit from heatwaves and at a time when global rice supplies are at risk in major food grain exporting countries.
● The country’s rain-deficit states together account for around 30% of our kharif foodgrain production and horticulture output.
5. High number of extreme climate events:
● The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has clearly sighted that 2022 has seen the second-highest extreme events since 1902.
● According to the global climate risk index, India ranked 7th overall.
● High number of flooding in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Assam, Gujarat.
● One extreme event during the monsoon is 'monster monsoon' which happened in Pakistan.
● The incidence of localised extremely heavy rainfall events in July and September 2021, especially on the western coast, were among the highest in the past five years.
6. Higher inflation:
● Lower food production due to extreme climate events leads to less food production and high inflation.
● The supply of such produce has an impact on general price levels in India. In the Consumer Price Index (CPI) food basket, inflation of fruits and vegetables (horticulture items) was in double digits (12.3%) in the April-June quarter.
7. Lower economic growth:
● Some states are more dependent on agriculture than others. The share of agriculture of Tripura (27.5%), Uttar Pradesh (22.3%), West Bengal (19.5%) and Bihar (19.0%) in the overall economy is higher than the national average.
● Poor agricultural performance in these states could hurt their economic performance disproportionately.
8. Health problems:
● Extreme events like storms, floods and heat waves are affecting people's health effectively.
● Around 2600 people have died in India due to extreme heat wave conditions.
● Due to flood events, the ability of the spreadness of viral vector diseases have also increased.
Mitigation policies to tackle climate change:
1. India's panchamrit strategy in UNFCCC:
● India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
● India will meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
● India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030.
● By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 percent.
● By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero.
● These panchamrits will be an unprecedented contribution of India to climate action.
2. National action plan on climate change:
As a part of the NAPCC, the Indian government had launched 8 missions in focused areas.
1. National Solar Mission.
2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.
3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat.
4. National Water Mission.
5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem.
6. National Mission for a “Green India” Goals.
7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.
3. National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):
● NAFCC is a Central Sector Scheme set up in 2015-16 with the aim to promote adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
● National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the implementing agency for the scheme.
● The Clean Energy Cess (or Coal Cess) was abolished in 2017 with the introduction of Goods and Service Tax. A new Cess on coal production, called the GST Compensation Cess of Rs 400 per tonne is put in place. The Cess is used to raise revenues for the National Clean Energy Fund.
4. Early warning system:
● Cyclone early warning systems and flash floods early warning systems have been initiated by the government for early forecasts in cities.
● 72hour Advance early warning system is the current level in India.
5. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA):
● The ICAR has launched NICRA during 2010-11 with an outlay of 350 crores. The initiative will primarily enhance the resilience of Indian Agriculture covering crops, livestock and fisheries.
● The initiative will involve strategic research on adaptation and mitigation. Accordingly, sponsored and critical research grants will be provided to fill the critical research gaps.
6. FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) Scheme:
● It is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan and has been launched by the Department of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
● The Scheme has four focus areas: technology development, demand creation, pilot projects and charging infrastructure.
● FAME 1 scheme was started in 2015- 2019 and FAME 2 was started in 2020.
7. Coalition for disaster risk reduction:
● The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN (United Nations) agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions.
● The Prime Minister of India launched CDRI during his speech at the UN Climate Action Summit on 23rd September 2019.
● It aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.
Adaptation measures:
● It includes building the capacity of the community through financial, technical and other infrastructural support to minimize the losses due to climate change.
● Interlinking of rivers project to avoid the problem of scarcity of water
● Adopting climate-smart agriculture to produce more in less input with avoiding impacts of climate change.
● Behavioural shifts such as individuals using less water, farmers planting different crops and more households and businesses buying flood insurance.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Follow the Bottom-up Approach:
● Resilience would be more effective if it is built on a bottom-up approach, by understanding the needs of the community at the local level, rather than providing directions from the leadership.
● For e.g. there is a need for a climate risk atlas to understand the vulnerability of a particular area at the district level.
2. Democratisation of data:
● There is a need for the dissemination of data to the general public in a more robust and simple manner as information is necessary to create an impact at the local level.
● It also provides a nudge to the local communities and creates a competitive environment for better climate action.
3. Expanding the horizon of Indian actions:
● Although India is being applauded globally for its efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change, yet there is a scope for further expansion of its efforts.
● Right now, they are concentrated in the field of energy emissions and utilisation of energy.
● However, there is a need to apply the same to sectors like agriculture, which have a measurable impact on climate change.
● Similarly, it is important to protect the vulnerable communities from extreme events and rationalize the use of fertilisers and subsidies, to create a low carbon economy.
4. Access to Finance:
● It is important for the world to realise the importance of incentivising the developing countries towards the usage of renewable energy.
● At this stage of development, developing countries cannot lose sight of their most important goal viz. improvement in the standard of life of its citizens.
● Therefore, the lead has to be taken by the western countries, in light of their historical responsibility, to finance the shift of developing countries from fossil based power to the usage of renewable energy.
5. Holistic view:
● There is a need to understand the importance of greener growth from an Indian perspective.
● A less carbon-intensive economy will also benefit the country in the long term as India is a vulnerable country in the context of climate change.
● Its long coastline and proximity to the Himalayas make it prone to a rise in sea level as well as cyclones and floods. Therefore, investment in renewable energy would be helpful in decreasing the chances of the occurrence of disasters and safeguarding the livelihoods of people.
6. Consensus oriented approach:
● There is a need to bring the countries, which have fallen out of line, back into the coalition.
● For e.g. the international community must hold the US accountable for its huge per capita emissions.
● Similarly, China’s overall emissions need to come down as it is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.