How does climate change impact extreme weather events?
What measures have been taken globally and nationally to tackle the issue of climate change?
What measures can be taken to mitigate the effects of climate change?
Is a heatwave recognised as a natural disaster in India?
Also Read :
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.
Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-II, GS-III: Important Geophysical Phenomena, Climate Change Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Government Policies & Interventions.
What’s the ongoing story- Amitabh Sinha writes- “The extremely high temperatures recorded in New Delhi in the last two days are extraordinary. But they are in keeping with the global trend in the last couple of years that has seen record-breaking temperatures being reported from several locations across the world.”
Prerequisites:
Key takeaways:
— “An analysis by Carbon Brief, a UK-based publication focused on climate change, last year showed that nearly 40% of the Earth had recorded its highest-ever daily temperature between 2013 to 2023. This includes places in Antarctica as well. The highest temperature in India, in Rajasthan’s Phalodi, was also recorded during this period.”
— “However, the highest ever temperature recorded anywhere on Earth, 56.7 degree Celsius in a place called Death Valley in the desert of California, United States, was recorded more than 100 years ago, in 1913.”
— “If the 52.9 degree Celsius recorded at one of the stations in Delhi on Wednesday is verified, it would be an all time high for India. But as of now, it is suspect. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it was checking the authenticity of the reading by an automatic weather station in Mungeshpur, located on the northern outskirts of Delhi, bordering Haryana.”
— “The year 2024 was predicted to be extremely warm. Last year had emerged as the warmest year on record, globally, and the effect was expected to continue this year as well. And so far, it has.”
— “April 2024 was the 11th consecutive month when the global average monthly temperature for that month touched a new record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an agency of the European Commission.”
— “The warming over India is not as pronounced as the world taken as a whole. Annual mean temperatures over India have risen by about 0.7 degree Celsius compared to 1900 levels. This is significantly lower than the 1.59 degree Celsius rise for average land temperatures across the world. If oceans too are included, global temperatures right now are at least 1.1 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial averages.”
— “However, heatwaves over India are noticeably more severe. In 2023, heatwave conditions prevailed even in February, technically a winter month for which heatwave thresholds are not even defined because they are not expected.”
Points to Ponder:
— What measures can be taken to mitigate the effects of climate change?
Post Read Question:
Which of the following is/are the favorable conditions for Heatwave?
1. Prevalence of hot dry air over a region
2. Absence of moisture in the upper atmosphere
3. Cloudless sky
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
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