The News Caravan

Tag: impacts

  • 90% of India, entire Delhi in ‘danger zone’ of heatwave impacts: Study

    90% of India, entire Delhi in ‘danger zone’ of heatwave impacts: Study

    [ad_1]

    New Delhi: Heatwaves in India are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, with over 90 percent of the country in the “extremely cautious” or “danger zone” of their impacts, according to a new study.

    The study, conducted by Ramit Debnath and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, also revealed that Delhi is particularly vulnerable to severe heatwave impacts, though its recent state action plan for climate change does not reflect this.

    It suggested that heatwaves have impeded India’s progress towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more significantly than previously thought, and that the current assessment metrics may not fully capture the impacts of heatwaves linked to climate change on the country.

    MS Education Academy

    Heatwaves claimed more than 17,000 lives in 50 years in India, according to a paper authored by M Rajeevan, former secretary of Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with scientists Kamaljit Ray, S S Ray, R K Giri and A P Dimri.

    The paper published in 2021 said there were 706 heatwave incidents in the country from 1971-2019.

    Thirteen people died from heatstroke at a Maharashtra government award function in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, making it one of the highest death tolls from a single heatwave-related event in the country’s history.

    To assess India’s climate vulnerability and the potential impact of climate change on SDG progress, researchers at the University of Cambridge conducted an analytical evaluation of the country’s heat index with its climate vulnerability index.

    The heat index (HI) is a measure of how hot it feels to the human body, taking into account both temperature and humidity. The climate vulnerability index (CVI) is a composite index that uses various indicators to account for socioeconomic, livelihood, and biophysical factors to study the impact of heatwave.

    The researchers accessed a publicly available dataset on state-level climate vulnerability indicators from the government’s National Data and Analytics Platform to classify severity categories.

    They then compared India’s progress in SDGs over 20 years (2001-2021) with extreme weather-related mortality from 2001-2021.

    The study showed that more than 90 percent of India is in the “extremely cautious” or “danger” range of heatwave impacts through HI, otherwise considered “low” or “moderate” vulnerability through CVI.

    States that were categorized as “low” in CVI rankings were found to be in “danger” HI categories, indicating that heatwaves put more people at extreme climate risk across India than estimated by CVI.

    The authors concluded that the use of CVI may underestimate the actual burden of climate change concerning heat, and suggested that India should consider reassessing its climate vulnerabilities to meet the SDGs.

    They warned that if India fails to address the impact of heatwaves immediately, it could slow progress towards achieving sustainable development goals.

    The study also highlighted that the current heat-action plans designed and implemented according to the Delhi government’s vulnerability assessment do not include HI estimations, which is concerning since even the “low” climate-vulnerable areas in Delhi are at high heatwave risks.

    The high intensity of development in Central, East, West, and North-East districts can further elevate the HI risks through heat island formation, it said.

    The authors said some of the critical variables in Delhi that will aggravate heat-related vulnerabilities include concentration of slum population and overcrowding in high HI areas, lack of access to basic amenities like electricity, water and sanitation, non-availability of immediate healthcare and health insurance, poor condition of housing and dirty cooking fuel (biomass, kerosene and coal).

    The threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, at least 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas, and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius.

    Earlier this month, the India Meteorological Department predicted above-normal maximum temperatures for most parts of the country from April to June, except parts of the northwest and the peninsular regions.

    Above-normal heatwave days are expected in most parts of central, east, and northwest India during this period.

    In 2023, India experienced its hottest February since record-keeping began in 1901. However, above-normal rainfall in March kept temperatures in check.

    March 2022 was the warmest ever and the third driest in 121 years. The year also saw the country’s third-warmest April since 1901.

    In India, about 75 percent of workers (around 380 million people) experience heat-related stress.

    A report by the McKinsey Global Institute warns that if this continues, by 2030, the country could lose between 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year.

    [ad_2]
    #India #entire #Delhi #danger #zone #heatwave #impacts #Study

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Harris on China balloon episode: I don’t think it impacts our relations

    Harris on China balloon episode: I don’t think it impacts our relations

    [ad_1]

    gettyimages 1412733374

    Harris noted that she said as much to Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met briefly in November at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok. “Everything that has happened in the last week and a half is, we believe, very consistent with our stated approach,” she said.

    The intrusion into U.S. airspace caused immediate anger and outrage throughout Washington, D.C., with members of both parties criticizing the Biden administration for failing to shoot down the balloon earlier. The White House says they waited until the balloon was safely away from civilians, though it has since taken aggressive action to shoot down other objects floating above U.S. territory. At this point, the administration isn’t tying those additional objects to the Chinese government.

    Harris conducted the interview roughly 24 hours before she was scheduled to depart Washington to lead the U.S. delegation at the Munich Security Conference. China’s top diplomat will be in attendance but Harris said there was nothing scheduled between her and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Reuters reported Monday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will also be attending the conference, is considering a meeting with his counterpart.

    This will be Harris’ second time attending the confab of global leaders and allies on behalf of the administration and her fourth trip to Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine. Her first visit last year came just days before the war began. In her meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Harris promised full support from the United States and encouraged him to prepare for a full-scale invasion.

    Nearly a year later, Harris returns aiming to push the western alliance to sustain its stance against Russia despite the impact the invasion has had on the world economy and energy security in Europe.

    “There is an enduring commitment on behalf of the alliance, but it’s not without sacrifice that each country is doing that,” Harris said. “And that’s to be applauded, which is a nation standing in defense of certain foundational principles when the going gets tough.”

    A White House official said Harris’ tentative schedule in Munich includes meetings with leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Sweden, and that “more engagements are possible.” Harris also is scheduled to address the conference in a speech Saturday.

    The vice president said she will be reassuring both the alliance and Ukraine of the U.S. commitment as the war enters its second year. Her stop in Munich will be followed by a visit from President Joe Biden to nearby Poland.

    But there are questions about whether the White House’s hands will be tied back home. Congressional Republicans have demanded that any future aid to Ukraine be accompanied by stringent new layers of oversight, if passed at all.

    Harris said she believed the GOP posture was overstated if not bluster.

    “One thing is rhetoric at the press conference,” she said. “But the other thing is how they’ve been voting and they’ve been voting to support the assistance that we have been as a nation giving the Ukrainian people.”

    A myriad of other international issues will be occurring in the backdrop of the Munich conference. Among the thorniest for the White House is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned overhaul of his country’s judicial system to shift power away from its supreme court.

    The move has been criticized by members of the Israeli government, including President Isaac Herzog, who in recent televised remarks said a “powder keg is about to explode” as thousands of Netanyahu’s opponents have taken to the streets in protest.

    Harris offered a measured critique of the judicial reform as well, placing it in the context of democratic backsliding.

    “As the president has said, an independent judiciary is foundational for a democracy,” she said. “And I think that there is no question that we need to make sure that that is supported in terms of what we talk about [and] in terms of our values.”

    In the brief phone interview, Harris also addressed domestic matters, including concerns from members of her own party over the prospect of another Biden-Harris ticket. Biden is expected to announce his decision on a reelection bid in the coming weeks, amid polls that show most Democrats have doubts about the two taking on whomever the Republican nominee will be.

    “We were in Philadelphia recently and hundreds of people were shouting their support of the work that our administration has had and the success that our administration has accomplished and their desire to see it keep going,” Harris said. “So I have seen just in terms of, in real life, real people being very supportive of the work that is happening. When I look at the midterms and how people voted, that gives me further objective and empirical evidence of this point.”

    [ad_2]
    #Harris #China #balloon #episode #dont #impacts #relations
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )