Impacts of climate change on our planet have been well documented. Over the period of few decades , the changes that have occurred seem to be significant.
According to a recent paper in Current Science, the twenty year old classification of districts on climate zones does not hold true today.
India district climate zones 1971 to 2005: Image source: http://www.makanaka.wordpress.com
The study indicates
- Substantial increase of arid region in Gujarat and decrease of arid region in Haryana.
- Increase in semi-arid region in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh due to shift of climate from dry sub-humid to semi-arid.
- Moist sub-humid pockets in Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have turned dry sub-humid to a large extent.
Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute warns that four types of geographies will share the largest burden of climate change crisis. a) the low-lying coastal settlements, b) farm regions dependent on river water from glacier and snow melt, c) sub-humid and arid regions that suffer from drought, and d) regions of Southeast Asia facing changes in monsoon patterns.Most of India falls into one of these four zones.
It is imperative for us to comprehend the reasons behind this shift in the classification and identify the enabling mechanisms required to cope with this change.
Ek Sparsh 