• Source:JND
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A new research revealed that global warming poses a serious threat to the Himalayan region, where about 90 per cent of the area could experience severe drought for a year if the temperature rises by 3 degrees Celsius. The research, published in the journal Climatic Change also showed that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as per the Paris Agreement, could significantly reduce the human and natural risks of climate change in India and other countries.

The study, led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, examined how different levels of global warming affect the risks of droughts, floods, crop failures, biodiversity loss and sea level rise in six developing countries including India, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia and Ghana. 

The researchers found that for each additional degree of global warming, these climate-related risks increase substantially. For example, at 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, an increase in temperatures in India will half the pollination while at 1.5 degrees it risked being reduced by a quarter. Similarly, at 3 degrees global warming, only 6 per cent of India acts as a refuge for biodiversity, compared to 50 per cent at 1.5 degrees.

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The researchers also found that more than 50 per cent of agricultural land in each country studied is likely to face severe drought for more than a year over a 30-year period if the temperature rises by 3 degrees Celsius. However, this risk can be reduced by 21-61 per cent by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Additionally, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would also lower the economic losses from riverine flooding and the damage from sea level rise in coastal countries.

The researchers warned that more action is needed to prevent global warming, as the current policies are expected to result in a 3 degrees Celsius increase in global temperature, which is contradictory to the Paris Agreement where 196 parties negotiated to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming. 

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The paper's lead author, Professor Rachel Warren said that even though these studies only focus on six countries, other countries are likely to face similar problems. He emphasised  that more attention is needed on both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change impacts, to prevent large risks to human and natural systems.

''This collection of results shows that we need to implement climate policies that are consistent with the Paris Agreement’s limits if we want to avoid the danger of widespread and escalating climate change,'' the reacher said.

Warren said that these results also confirm the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 report, which shows how the risk of severe consequences increases with every additional degree of global warming.