INDIA THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

India threatened by changes to the Monsoon
Greenpeace calls on Manmohan Singh to act on climate change
June 04, 2009
On the eve of World Environment Day, Greenpeace activists hang a banner from the Mankhurd-Vashi bridge in Mumbai, urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to put India’s climate policy on track and stop climate change. The bridge links Mumbai and Thane, the two cities in South Asia that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Greenpeace simultaneously released a scientific paper describing the impacts of climate change on the Indian monsoon, which would result in enormous social and economic impacts for over a billion people. Enlarge Image
Mumbai, India — The Indian monsoon – lifeline of the subcontinent - will be significantly affected by climate change, according to a Greenpeace paper titled ‘Monsoon Wager: Climate change and the Indian Monsoon’, released on the eve of World Environment Day. To drive home the point, eight Greenpeace activists hung an 80 foot banner with a message to the Indian Prime Minister, that read, “Dr Manmohan Singh, Save our Monsoon” from the Mumbai-Thane bridge linking the two cities which are amongst the most vulnerable to cyclones, sea level rise and flooding in the South Asian region (1).
The stability and predictability of the monsoons are critical to India’s economy, society and ecology, and changes in the monsoon will have far reaching social and economic impacts. The Greenpeace paper, a compilation of current climate science on the Indian monsoon, concludes that climate change could bring about significant change to the intensity, geographic distribution and inter seasonal breaks in the monsoon, which would have enormous social consequences(2). “The lives of millions of Indians, farmers, city dwellers, even those trading on the Mumbai Sensex, depend on the monsoon. The unprecedented flooding that Mumbai experienced in 2005 is estimated to have caused a direct loss of about Rs. 450 crores (US$100 million). Mumbai and India cannot allow the delicate balance of the monsoon to be thrown awry; we cannot afford to adapt if the monsoons are impacted, we simply have to stop that from happening”, said Vinuta Gopal, Climate & Energy campaigner Greenpeace. The predictions made by the IPCC in the 4th Assessment Report suggest that warming is likely to be above the global average for South Asia, with an increase in summer precipitation and an increase in the frequency of intense precipitation in some parts. The report states that more extreme rainfall and winds may result from tropical cyclones. Though the rainfall would increase by an overall 20% in the summer monsoon, it will not be spread evenly across the country. “India has not been a historical contributor to the problem of climate change, but it has a lot to lose from the effects that climate change will have on its land and people. Given that the science calls for drastic action to prevent a climate catastrophe, even developing countries such as India cannot afford to ignore the situation and need to move away from a ‘business as usual’ carbon intensive growth path” said Siddharth Pathak, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace who is in Bonn, Germany to keep an eye on the Climate negotiations meeting. Greenpeace demanded that the Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh put India’s climate policy on track and urge world leaders such as Obama, Hu, Merkel, Sarkozy, Brown and Lula to do the same. “The Climate Summit to be held in Copenhagen in December needs to come up with an agreement that will save the planet. The longer the climate negotiators delay the greater the threat to India’s one billion inhabitants. With only six months to go, time is running out.“ added Siddharth.