TESTING TIMES

displaced in South Asia by 2050.
“The South Asia’s Hotspots: Impacts
of Temperature and Precipitation
Change on Living Standard Report”
says that 800 million people in the
region live in FCV areas, where livelihoods
are vulnerable to climate
impacts and for potential displacement.
For reducing the impact of
climate change and promoting
peaceful societies, the initiated programmes
include: reducing carbon
emissions, changing the energy mix,
and mitigating the effects of climate
change; help countries in formulation
of “National Adaptation Plans
(NAPs)” to strengthen resilience
and adapt to climate change; build
resilience to natural hazards and extreme
climate events, and adoption
of climate – smart practices and better
water management.
India is highly vulnerable to
climate change as under:-
Extreme weather events can impact
75% of India’s districts – with a
spike in such events since 2005;
There is a shift occurring in the
pattern of extreme climate events,
flood-prone areas are becoming
drought-prone and vice-versa in over
40% districts;in 2020, floods in Assam
affected more than 60,000 people
while Hyderabad recorded rainfall
of 29.8 cms in 24 hours – Cyclone
22 July 2021
Hyderabad recorded
rainfall of 29.8 cms
in 24 hours – Cyclone
Amphan, which
impacted the coastal
districts of West Bengal,
displaced over 4.9
million people;between
1970 and 2004, three
extreme flood events
occurred annually on
average.
Amphan, which impacted the coastal
districts of West Bengal, displaced
over 4.9 million people;between
1970 and 2004, three extreme flood
events occurred annually on average.
After 2005, the yearly average rose
to 11. Similarly, the annual average
for districts affected by floods rose to
55 from 19. The yearly average number
of districts affected by cyclones
has tripled since 2005 and the cyclone
frequency has doubled,and six
of the ten extreme weather events
Opinion Express
globally in 2020 took place in Asia,
with floods in India and China causing
damages of over $40 billion.
Climate change resilience
actions included:-
Bold steps on clean energy
and energy efficiency, developing
disaster risk reduction strategies
in the face of growing climate
threats;afforestation and biodiversity
conservation;sustainable lifestyles
and guiding philosophy of
“back to basics”; mobilising green
finance, clean technology and green
collaboration; strengthening resilience
to climate change and natural
disasters;making natural resources,
environment and water infrastructure
resilient to drought, andaccelerating
technologies, like hydrogen,
carbon capture, use and storage, soil
and forest carbon, and energy storage
to backup renewable sources
and decarbonise transport, and low
or zero emissions in steel and aluminum
production.
Biodiversity.
Biodiversity is fundamental to
human life on Earth. But it is being
destroyed at an unprecedented rate.
Since the industrial revolution, human
activities have increasingly destroyed
and degraded forests, grasslands,
wetlands and other important