'Future climate projections must determine our actions'

While most of the current climate action plans are based on past changes, they should be rather based on future changes, asserts weather scientist

ROXY Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and lead author, United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Oceans and Cryosphere. He tells TNIE's Richa Sharma in an interview that the root cause for the excess heat and increasing heatwaves in the Indo-Pak region is global warming due to human-made carbon emissions. Excerpts:

The temperature touched around 50 degree Celsius in April. What are the reasons for this? Summers during April-May are generally hot in India as there are less clouds and more sunlight to warm up the land. Now, global warming is supplying additional heat as increased carbon emissions trap more of the sun's heat. North-northwest India is looking at a 60-90% deficit in the rains during March to mid-May. This was accompanied by the sinking of dry air in the region, suppressing cloud activity and increasing the solar radiation, thereby accumulating excess heat.

The impact of extreme weather events is visible on our food security. What lies ahead? The global commitment towards reducing emissions is insufficient to keep the temperatures from shooting up. Climate action and adaptation at local levels should go parallel with mitigation at global and national levels. Panchayats and communities can come forward to monitor and work towards adaptation measures.