| Popis: |
Increases in anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are considered to be the major driving force behind current climate change. Although climate change is not a new phenomenon, the impact of these emissions on the earth’s climate and environment has serious implications for human occupation. The geological record of the earth provides numerous examples that climate has not been uniform through its history, and has been significantly altered from time to time. It also indicates that events of past climate change have severely impacted the earth’s environment and caused widespread destruction of ecosystems. Understanding climate change is therefore of great concern to human lives because it is expected to have wide-ranging effects on the future sustainability of Mother Earth. It poses a serious threat to India—the largest agricultural nation in the South Asian region. India has a population of over 1.2 billion that makes it one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. Climate scientists estimate an increase of 2.1° to 2.6 °C in temperature by 2050 and around 3.3° to 3.8 °C by 2080 over the Indian region that is already experiencing climate change. Further change is predicted to have adverse impacts on natural resources such as freshwater supply, Himalayan glaciers and rivers, agriculture, biodiversity and human health. Change is expected to result in increases in the frequencies of extreme weather events, including increased precipitation, droughts, rising sea level and the submergence of low-lying coastal areas, floods and cyclones. Climate induced-immigration from neighbouring nations may also put additional strain on its resources. Consequently, an understanding of climate change and its potential impact on natural resources, both in general and in the Indian region in particular, is important because it will affect the lives of millions of people. This article presents an overview of climate change research, the potential impacts of climate change on natural resources (with reference to India) and the possibilities of mitigation. |
