Page 16 - Climate Change

Google researchers use AI to forecast floods with small data sets

Google's AI model now operational in 80 countries, provides more accurate predictions of river flooding than the previous dominant system, according to a paper published Wednesday in Nature

IMD weather forecasts: Heavy rain in many parts of India, details inside

IMD forecasts rainfall with lightning, and thunderstorms in a few areas. Heat wave conditions likely to be in Saurashtra, Kutch, and southwest Rajasthan

Discounts, eco-packages lure Indians towards green tourism: Survey

Do you prioritise sustainability while planning your travels? If you do, you are among the 87% of Indian travellers who care

Ganges, Brahmaputra among major river basins to feel climate change impact

The alarming impact of climate change will be felt on South Asia's major river basins, including the Ganges, Indus and the Brahmaputra, according to a new report. It also noted that critical intersection of anthropogenic activities and shifting climate patterns can spell dire consequences for about a billion people in the area. According to the report -- "Elevating River Basin Governance and Cooperation in the HKH Region" -- on these three rivers, there is an immediate need for a climate-resilient approach to river basin management. The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) are the freshwater sources of South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia. Water originating from their snow, glaciers and rainfall feed the 10 largest river systems in Asia. The Ganges basin, often regarded as sacred and essential to more than 600 million individuals across the Indian subcontinent, is facing mounting environmental threats. Rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and intensive agricultural practices have exacted

Annual climate finance requirement estimated to cross $10 trn by 2050: CAG

The annual climate finance requirements are estimated to cross USD 10 trillion by 2050, and failure to meet the funding demands will intensify socio-economic consequences related to climate-linked disasters, Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu on Tuesday. Climate financing is key to collective efforts to move towards a more resilient and sustainable future, he said while addressing a one-day seminar on Climate Financing here. "As climate change intensifies, so does the urgency for robust climate finance mechanisms to fund adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building efforts worldwide," he said. The CAG further stated that annual climate finance needs are estimated to increase substantially, reaching well beyond USD 10 trillion annually by 2050. "Failing to meet these financial demands will exacerbate the rise in global temperatures, simultaneously intensifying socio-economic consequences of climate-related disasters. Unfortunately, despite the stark ...

Earth on brink: UN issues red alert on climate change after record heat

The UN weather agency is sounding a red alert about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and warning that the world's efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate. The World Meteorological Organisation, in a State of the Global Climate report released Tuesday, ratcheted up concerns that a much-vaunted climate goal is increasingly in jeopardy: That the world can unite to limit planetary warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels. Never have we been so close albeit on a temporary basis at the moment to the 1.5 C lower limit of the Paris agreement on climate change, said Celeste Saulo, the agency's secretary-general. The WMO community is sounding the red alert to the world. The 12-month period from March 2023 to February 2024 pushed beyond that 1.5-degree limit, averaging 1.56 C (2.81 F) higher, according to the European

All climate change metrics crossed records in 2023, says WMO report

The global set of reference glaciers suffered the largest loss of ice on record (since 1950), driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe, according to preliminary data

Climate change: 3 grand challenges

The Indian community needs to develop a shared consensus on three challenges

Sidbi secures first green climate fund project worth $120 million

Development bank Sidbi on Monday said it has secured approval from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for its first anchored project, Avaana Sustainability Fund (ASF), valued at USD 120 million. The closure was announced at the 38th board meeting of the GCF, which will invest USD 24.5 million in the fund, in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 5, Sidbi, an accredited entity of GCF, said in a statement. The primary aim of the ASF project is to invest in early-stage companies harnessing technology-led innovation to spur climate solutions and sustainability in the country. The anticipated outcomes include significant contributions to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and the enhancement of resilience in vulnerable sectors of the economy. This is the first project anchored by Sidbi including the first secured for the country in the past few years and will go a long way in advancing the country's nationally determined contributions by effecting substantial global changes through its proficiency in .

Feb hottest on record with avg temp 1.77 deg C above pre-industrial period

The world last month experienced the warmest February on record, with the average temperature being 1.77 degrees Celsius more than the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, the European Union's climate agency said on Thursday. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) also said that every month since June last year has been the warmest such month on record. Scientists attribute the exceptional warming to the combined effects of El Nino -- a period of abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- and human-caused climate change. C3S last month said the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January. A permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris Agreement, however, refers to long-term warming over many years. According to climate scientists, countries need to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius a

UN warns of climate impact on women-run households, farms in poor nations

Women who run farms and rural households in poor countries suffer more from climate change and are discriminated against as they try to adapt to other sources of income in times of crises, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, The Unjust Climate, found that female-headed rural households lose on average 8 per cent more of their income during heat waves and 3 per cent more during floods, compared to male-headed households. That disparity translates into a per capita reduction of USD 83 due to heat stress and USD 35 due to floods coming up to an annual total of USD 37 billion and USD 16 billion respectively in poor countries, the UN agency said in the report. Considering the significant existing differences in agricultural productivity and wages between women and men, the study suggests that if not addressed, climate change will greatly widen these gaps in the years ahead, FAO said. The Rome-based FAO came up with the statistics

Dysfunctional environmental clearance system should be shut down: Narain

India's system for granting environmental clearances is badly broken and should be completely shut down to dispel any illusions about their effectiveness, eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain has said. In an interview with PTI, Narain -- the director general of independent think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) -- suggested that the government overhaul the system to strike a balance between environmental preservation and development. Expressing concern over the decriminalisation of environmental laws in India, Narain said the current system for granting environmental and forest clearances, and penalising polluters is "so broken that it should be completely shut down so that we have no illusion of anything that is not working". Regarding environmental impact assessments, Narain pointed out the lack of accountability of committees granting clearances. "The panel lays down hundreds of conditions so that it is not held to account but there is no way to know if the ...

Organisations work to help dozens of families displaced by Texas wildfires

A gush of red-coloured water spilled from an air tanker on Sunday as it flew over the eastern side of the Smokehouse Creek fire, one of several wildfires that have burned over 1.2 million acres in the northern Texas Panhandle. As firefighters battle against strong winds in their efforts to contain the unprecedented wildfires in the Texas Pandhandle, humanitarian organizations are pivoting their attention to victims who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the blazes. Residents began clearing affected property on Saturday, and by Sunday the extent of the loss began mounting. Julie Winters, the executive director for Hutchinson County United Way, said the organization has heard estimates of over 150 homes being impacted in the county, noting that the fires extend to at least five other counties. "We already know that a large group of people are uninsured who lost their homes. So without monetary assistance, it's going to be very hard for them to start back over," Winters said. A

90% of Himalayas will face year-long drought at 3 degrees warming: Study

About 90 per cent of the Himalayan Region will experience drought lasting over a year if global warming increases by 3 degrees Celsius, according to new research. The findings, published in the journal Climatic Change, show that 80 per cent of the increased human exposure to heat stress in India can be avoided by adhering to Paris Agreement's temperature goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to 3 degrees Celsius warming. The team led by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing on India, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana -- shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming. It found that in India pollination is reduced by half

RBI releases draft disclosure framework for banks to address climate risks

The RBI has previously acknowledged climate change as a source of financial risk. In July 2022, it released a discussion paper exploring strategies to address climate change-related financial risks

EU to approve plan to meet climate goals, protect nature despite protests

The European Union is on the brink of approving a major plan to fight climate change and better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc after protests from farmers and opposition from the biggest party in parliament led it to be diluted. The plan is a key part of the EU's European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues. The Nature Restoration plan has had a rough ride through the EU's complicated approval process, and a watered-down version will proceed to a final vote by the EU member states, where it is expected to survive. Today's vote to get the Nature Restoration Law over the finish line offers fresh hope for Europe's ability to combat the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss for decades to come," said Noor Yafai of the global environmental group The Nature Conservancy. Under the plan, member states would have to meet restoration targets f

'Ancient country, new ideas': Bill Gates' praise for India in latest trip

Bill Gates is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and engage with various stakeholders during his India trip, where he will hold discussions on spreading India's innovations around the world

Govt permits planting of trees on degraded land parcels for credits

India is yet to have a domestic carbon/green credit marketplace with the regulations for it under consideration. There are however independent agencies running such platforms

UN member states meet to plan how to tackle world's environmental crises

The world's top decision-making body on the environment is meeting in Kenya's capital on Monday to discuss how countries can work together to tackle environmental crises like climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity. The meeting in Nairobi is the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, and governments, civil society groups, scientists and the private sector are attending. None of us live on an island. We live on planet Earth, and we are all connected, Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, which is leading the process, told The Associated Press ahead of the talks. The only way we can solve some of these problems is by talking together. At the meeting, member states discuss a raft of draft resolutions on a range of issues that the assembly adopts upon consensus. If a proposal is adopted, it sets the stage for countries to implement what's been agreed on. In the last round of talks in 2022, also in Nairobi, governments adopted

India will not accept unjust carbon emission mandates, says DPIIT secy

India will not accept any unjustified mandate on carbon emissions but will deliver more than the commitment it makes, a senior government official said on Friday. While speaking at the Aavaana-Startup India ClimateTech Challenge event, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India's mandate is to become net zero by 2070. "We have accepted a stretched-out kind of goal because India believes we are not historically responsible for carbon emissions, even less in per capita terms, but the vision of the Hon'ble PM has always been that we will not accept unjustified mandates but we will deliver much more than we have promised," he said. Singh said India has already built the world's 4th largest renewable energy capacity of 180 gigawatts. "We are well ahead of our SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) goals," he said. He said that as India moves towards a greener future, start-ups will play a very important role through their innova