Albert Science International Organization

Abstract:

Global warming is the ‘talk of the town’ in this century, with its detrimental effects already being brought to limelight by the recurring events of massive floods, annihilating droughts and ravaging cyclones throughout the globe. The average global temperatures are higher than they have ever been during the past millennium, and the levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere have crossed all previous records. It is undisputed that the average temperature at the surface of the Earth has increased over the past century by about 1°F (0.6°C), with both the air and the oceans warming. Since 1880, when people in many locations first began to keep temperature records, the 25 warmest years have all occurred within the last 28 years. Scientists know with absolute certainty that the observed dramatic increase in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases since pre-industrial times (to levels higher than at any other time in at least the last 420,000 years) has been caused by human activities, mostly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), and to a lesser extent, deforestation. A scrutiny of the past records of 100 years indicates that India figures in the first 10 in the world in terms of fatalities and economic losses in a variety of climatic disasters. Before embarking on a detailed analysis of Global warming and its impacts on Indian climate, we should first know what climate, green house effect and global warming actually mean. Being such a huge country, India exhibits a wide diversity of temperatures; from the freezing cold winters in the Himalayas to the scorching heat of the Thar Desert. The above two regions play a very significant role in controlling the weather of India, making it warmer than to be expected with its latitude. The Himalayas participate in this warming by preventing the cold winds from blowing in, and the Thar desert attracts the summer monsoon winds, which are responsible for making the majority of the monsoon season of India. However, the majority of the regions can be considered climatically tropical. India has a distinctive vulnerability profile as the poor are the most affected. Tremendous weather events take place more frequently and are becoming more ruthless. Therefore the previous attempts of just rescuing the affected will not be enough now, instead, meticulous steps to prevent these disasters are required. This can only be met if the strategies and policies can cope with climate change, requiring the active participation of the government and the people.

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