Climate change in India

Satpura coal-fired power station

India was ranked seventh among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2019.[1] India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases each year; about two and a half tons per person, which is less than the world average.[2] The country emits 7% of global emissions, despite having 17% of the world population.[3] The climate change performance index of India ranks eighth among 63 countries which account for 92% of all GHG emissions in the year 2021.[4]

Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna and other major rivers. A 2007 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that the Indus River may run dry for the same reason.[5] Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam.[6] Heat waves' frequency and intensity are increasing in India because of climate change.[7] Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018.[8]

According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.[9]

  1. ^ Eckstein, David; Künzel, Vera; Schäfer, Laura (January 2021). "Global Climate Risk Index 2021" (PDF). GermanWatch.org.
  2. ^ "Greenhouse Gas Emissions in India" (PDF). September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference UN2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Climate Change Performance Index" (PDF). November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  5. ^ "How climate change hits India's poor". BBC News. 1 Feb 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Warmer Tibet can see Brahmaputra flood Assam | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  7. ^ Coleman, Jude (2024-05-29). "Chance of heatwaves in India rising with climate change". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-01577-5. PMID 38811783.
  8. ^ Sharma, Vibha (15 June 2020). "Average temperature over India projected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius: Govt report on impact of climate change in country". Tribune India. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. ^ Gupta, Vivek; Jain, Manoj Kumar (2018). "Investigation of multi-model spatiotemporal mesoscale drought projections over India under climate change scenario". Journal of Hydrology. 567: 489–509. Bibcode:2018JHyd..567..489G. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.012. ISSN 0022-1694. S2CID 135053362.