INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE ASSESSMENT REPORT

  • Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released the second part of its sixth assessment report. This second part of the report is about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options.
  • The first part of this report on the physical science of climate change in 2021. It had warned that 1.5 degree Celsius warming was likely to be achieved before 2040 itself.
  • The third and final part of the report, which will look into the possibilities of reducing emissions, is expected to come out in April 2022.
  • Noting that over 3.5 billion people, over 45% of the global population, were living in areas highly vulnerable to climate change.
  • The report identifies India as one of the vulnerable hotspots, with several regions and important cities facing very high risk of climate disasters such as flooding sea-level rise and heat-waves.
  • For example, Mumbai is at high risk of sea-level rise and flooding, while Ahmedabad faces serious danger of heat-waves.
  • The latest report warns that multiple disasters induced by climate change are likely to emerge in different parts of the world in the next two decades.
  • Multiple climate hazards will occur simultaneously, and multiple climatic and non-climatic risks will interact, resulting in compounding overall risk and risks cascading across sectors and regions.
  • Even if adequate efforts are made to keep the global rise in temperatures within 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.
  • Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible.
  • The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions.
  • Projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming
  • There is a strong focus on the interactions among the coupled systems climate, ecosystems (including their biodiversity) and human society.
  • These are driven by patterns of intersecting socio-economic development, unsustainable ocean and land use, inequity, marginalization, historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism, and governance.
  • It has found that climate change is increasing vector-borne and water-borne diseases such as malaria or dengue particularly in sub-tropical regions of Asia.
  • It has also said deaths related to circulatory, respiratory, diabetic and infectious diseases, as well as infant mortality, are likely to increase with a rise in temperature.
  • Increasing frequency of extreme weather events like heatwaves, flooding and drought, and even air pollution was contributing to under-nutrition, allergic diseases and even mental disorders.
  • Current Adaptation and its Benefits: Progress in adaptation planning and implementation has been observed across all sectors and regions, generating multiple benefits.
  • However, adaptation progress is unevenly distributed with observed adaptation gaps..
  • Many initiatives prioritise immediate and nearterm climate risk reduction which reduces the opportunity for transformational adaptation.

The Assessment Reports – by three working groups of scientists.

  1. Working Group-I – Deals with the scientific basis for climate change.
  2. Working Group-II – Looks at the likely impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation issues.
  3. Working Group-III – Deals with actions that can be taken to combat climate change.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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