New climate data set for India unveiled by Azim Premji University

The average annual maximum temperature will experience an increase of 1.5 degree Celsius by 2057 under ‘the middle of the road’ emission scenario while the more extreme ‘fossil-fueled development’ emission scenario predicts this temperature rise will occur a decade earlier, by 2047.This is one of the many key findings of the Azim Premji University’s new climate data set for India, which was unveiled on November 17.

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According to the Climate Change Projections for India (2021-40) report, the projections examine two IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) scenarios: SSP2-4.5 (moderate emissions and adaptation) and SSP5-8.5 (high emissions with heavy fossil fuel reliance).In other words, the ‘middle of the road’ emission scenario assumes that society will take moderate steps to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, which will lead to moderate effects in the future. The ‘fossil-fueled development’ emission scenario presumes that society will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels for energy, leading to a future with very high emissions and severe impacts.