Source: Business Standard

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Context

• June 2024 is considered as the warmest month ever recorded compared to the pre-industrial levels and due to climate change.
• This shows how intense climate conditions such as heat, drought and water shortage, floods etc have affected societies globally through human-induced global warming and cyclic states of El Nino.

Details

Global Context:

• Highest annual global mean temperature for the last one year, which is 64°C above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
• North West Europe, Canada, US, Mexico, Asia, east Australia, S.Europe, Turkey, Brazil, N.Siberia, Mid-East, N.Africa, W. Antarctica are the most effected regions.

Impacts of Climate Change:

• Extremes in heat, more frequent and severe drought and floods, and storm intensity.
• More than 40,000 heatstroke cases that are suspected and more than 100 heat related deaths in India.
• Power grids and water supply overburdened particularly in areas like Delhi.

Scientific Analysis:

• Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has provided the data confirming the record temperatures.

• 2023-24 El Niño event causing warming up of the trend.
• The frequency of temperature above 1.5°C threshold had already occurred twice to the pre-industrial level.

Policy Implications:

• Paris Agreement: World’s average temperature should be retained at a low of 1. 5°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The need for a radical reduction to combat long-term warming and its consequences is required.
• Global Cooperation: Importance of international treaties and climate change intervention.

India Specific Data:

• IMD Reports that June was the hottest in the Northwest India in 119 years of records.
• 11 states had experienced between 20 and 38 heatwave days in April-June 2020.
• Some parts of Rajasthan recorded temperatures more than 50°C during the day and night temperatures of 35°C.

Environmental and Ecological Implications:

• Marine Ecosystems: The existence of high seas temperatures makes it hard for marine life to survive as well as affects the biodiversity.
• Polar Regions: Less than average sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, meaning quick shifts in polar regions’ weather.

Socio-Economic Dimensions:

• Agriculture: Food quality is reduced due to elaborate heat, which is detrimental to crops hence producing less food.
• Livelihoods: Heat stress reduces works productivity/labour productivity particularly in workers /employees who are exposed to harsh climatic conditions.
• Public Health: Heat index rising, effected illnesses and mortality rates rising.

Global Action and Initiatives:

• Climate Central Analysis: It was also reported that more than the sixty percent of the global population was subjected to extreme heat that climate change make likely.
• International Cooperation: International organizations’ implications in the global climate change and addressing of sustainable development.

Conclusion

• Climate change is becoming destructive and therefore requires prompt action to be taken. Government officials are major stakeholders, who are charged with the responsibility of implementing these solutions, while the people are helpful in creating awareness about the problems and hence the need to fix them. It can therefore be understood from the above analysis that through synergy, the impacts of climate change can be reduced to the minimum.

Sources:

Business Standard

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. June 2024 witnessed record-breaking global temperatures, highlighting the urgency of climate action. Analyse the key impacts of climate change on various sectors in India, and suggest suitable policy measures the government can adopt to mitigate these effects.