13 January 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1. Planning for a hotter world

(Source – Indian Express, Section – The Ideas Page – Page No. – 11)

Topic: GS3 – Environment

Context

The article emphasizes India’s urgent need to prioritize climate adaptation alongside emission mitigation to address escalating climate challenges.

Analysis of the news:

The Hottest Year on Record

• On January 1, 2025, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that 2024 was the hottest year on record since 1901.
• This global phenomenon was echoed in countries like Brazil, China, Indonesia, Germany, and Mali, which also declared 2024 as their hottest year.
• For India, this milestone serves as a stark reminder of the need to adapt to its evolving climatic landscape.
• Rising global temperatures pose dual threats: exacerbating public health challenges and straining economic productivity.
• To tackle these, India must integrate adaptation strategies with its emission mitigation plans.

Climate Risks Across India’s Diverse Landscape

• A study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) reveals that nearly 80% of Indians live in districts prone to floods, droughts, or cyclones.
• Some regions, such as parts of Odisha, Telangana, and Gujarat, face multiple simultaneous climate hazards.
• This growing frequency of climate extremes underscores the need for year-round preparedness.
• Even as parts of the country experience winter chills, the devastating heatwaves of 2024 — with temperatures nearing 50°C in Delhi — are a pressing concern.
• The impacts are widespread, from public health crises to energy shortages, as seen in Delhi’s 16% spike in power demand during a 10-day heatwave.

The Economic Cost of Monsoon Variability

• Monsoon patterns, critical to India’s agrarian economy, are becoming increasingly erratic.
• Between 2012-2022, key districts in the Indo-Gangetic plains reported up to a 20% decline in southwest monsoon rainfall.
• This variability translates into significant agricultural losses, amounting to 0.25% of India’s GDP annually.
• The Arabian Sea has seen a 52% rise in tropical storm cyclones over the last two decades, exacerbating vulnerabilities.
• While cyclone early warning systems cover all at-risk populations, only one-third of flood-prone areas benefit from similar protections.
• This gap in preparedness magnifies the challenges posed by severe floods, cloudbursts, and flash floods witnessed across multiple states in 2024.

Adaptation Strategies for Heat Stress and Agriculture

• India’s evolving climate demands sector-specific adaptation strategies. Heat stress disproportionately affects vulnerable groups such as children, senior citizens, and those with chronic health conditions.
• It also impacts livestock productivity, with heat stress causing a 20% decline in milk production, which constitutes 5% of India’s GDP. Solutions like solar chillers can help mitigate these losses.
• In agriculture, nearly half of the sector depends on rain-fed farming, making it highly susceptible to rainfall variability.
• Revising crop calendars and promoting drought- and flood-resistant seed varieties developed by the Indian Council on Agricultural Research (ICAR) can significantly reduce crop losses.

Building Urban Resilience and Financial Adaptation

• Urban resilience is key to mitigating climate impacts in cities. The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill 2024 empowers states to form Urban Disaster Management Authorities, ensuring city-level preparedness.
• Financing mechanisms like city resilience bonds and green municipal bonds can help cities invest in climate adaptation infrastructure.
• Enhanced disaster risk financing is particularly critical for urban areas, where climate impacts can disrupt livelihoods and infrastructure on a massive scale.

Mainstreaming Climate Resilience in Policy and Planning

• As India prepares for the 2025 Budget, integrating climate resilience into financial planning is imperative.
• This shift is not just an environmental necessity but an economic investment.
• From securing agricultural livelihoods to fortifying urban infrastructure, climate resilience offers a pathway to sustainable growth.
• India’s proactive approach to adaptation will determine its ability to navigate the complex challenges of a warming world.

Details about 2024 warming statistics

● At an average temperature of 15.1 degrees Celsius, 2024 was the warmest year in global temperature records, which go back till 1850. ● It was 0.72 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average. ● It was also 1.60 degrees Celsius above an estimate of the 1850-1900 temperature designated to be the ‘pre-industrial’ level. ● Experts have said that given the high rate of carbon emissions at present, the 2024 temperatures represent a point of no return. ● Contributing Factors: El Niño Impact: It began in June 2023, lasted into 2024, exacerbating warming trends. This combined with greenhouse gas emissions to break records Sea Surface Temperatures (SST): Extra-polar SST reached a record high of 20.87°C, surpassing the 1991-2020 average by 0.51°C.

Practice Question:  With 2024 being declared the hottest year on record, discuss the significance of integrating climate adaptation strategies with emission mitigation in India. (150 Words /10 marks)

 

For more such UPSC related Current Affairs, Check Out: 11 January 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis