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Climate Change and Its Impacts with Special Reference to India

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Water, Cryosphere, and Climate Change in the Himalayas

Part of the book series: Geography of the Physical Environment ((GEOPHY))

Abstract

Increases in anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are considered to be the major driving force behind current climate change. Although climate change is not a new phenomenon, the impact of these emissions on the earth’s climate and environment has serious implications for human occupation. The geological record of the earth provides numerous examples that climate has not been uniform through its history, and has been significantly altered from time to time. It also indicates that events of past climate change have severely impacted the earth’s environment and caused widespread destruction of ecosystems. Understanding climate change is therefore of great concern to human lives because it is expected to have wide-ranging effects on the future sustainability of Mother Earth. It poses a serious threat to India—the largest agricultural nation in the South Asian region. India has a population of over 1.2 billion that makes it one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. Climate scientists estimate an increase of 2.1° to 2.6 °C in temperature by 2050 and around 3.3° to 3.8 °C by 2080 over the Indian region that is already experiencing climate change. Further change is predicted to have adverse impacts on natural resources such as freshwater supply, Himalayan glaciers and rivers, agriculture, biodiversity and human health. Change is expected to result in increases in the frequencies of extreme weather events, including increased precipitation, droughts, rising sea level and the submergence of low-lying coastal areas, floods and cyclones. Climate induced-immigration from neighbouring nations may also put additional strain on its resources. Consequently, an understanding of climate change and its potential impact on natural resources, both in general and in the Indian region in particular, is important because it will affect the lives of millions of people. This article presents an overview of climate change research, the potential impacts of climate change on natural resources (with reference to India) and the possibilities of mitigation.

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Acknowledgements

The author is thankful to Dr. Ajay Kumar Taloor for inviting him to contribute this chapter in the present volume. Special thanks go to Prof. C. J. R. Braithwaite, Dr. S. K. Parcha and Dr. S. Pant for their advice and fruitful discussions that have greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Discipline Group, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, 110068, India

    Omkar Verma

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  1. Omkar Verma
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, University of Jammu, Jammu, India

    Ajay Kumar Taloor

  2. Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India

    Bahadur Singh Kotlia

  3. Centre for Land and Water Resource Management, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora, India

    Kireet Kumar

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Verma, O. (2021). Climate Change and Its Impacts with Special Reference to India. In: Taloor, A.K., Kotlia, B.S., Kumar, K. (eds) Water, Cryosphere, and Climate Change in the Himalayas. Geography of the Physical Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67932-3_3

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