Adaptation key to tackle climate change: NIAS director

Mapping the impact of climate change along with human activities is a critical need of the hour, said Shailesh Nayak, Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies.

He was speaking at the opening of a three-day conference on “Changes in the Hydrological Dynamics of Lakes and Reservoirs in a Warming Climate and the Anthropocene” organised at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

He said realities of global warming such as reduced precipitation, rising temperatures and increasing carbon dioxide affecting photosynthesis must be tackled urgently.

He also stressed the need for water recycling, monitoring its quality, and noted that water demand was projected to reach 90 billion cubic metres by 2050.

The conference also included technical sessions on the use of drone-based, high-resolution real-time data and AI-driven analysis to build a holistic understanding of lake ecosystems, hydro mechanical factors influencing lake stability, and the potential and challenges of floating photovoltaic systems on lakes and reservoirs.