Climate report flags Bengaluru lake loss

Bengaluru’s loss of a network of water tanks compelling people to increasingly use boreholes and rely on long distance water transfers on Monday was cited by the IPCC as one of the key examples of how water stressed India would be in the coming decades as a consequence of human-induced climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest report red-flagged the dangerous and widespread disruption in nature caused by climate change, affecting lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks.

“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC.

“It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our well-being and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”

Bengaluru, where local communities had traditionally managed a network of water tanks of immense ecological importance, provides an example of one such inaction.

“In the last half-century, urban development has threatened the blue network to such an extent that Bengaluru now depends on long-distance water transfers that create political conflict and a dense network of private boreholes depleting the city’s water resources,” says the UN climate body.

Also read: Unsurvivable heat, food and water scarcity: What India could face if it fails to cut emissions

The restoration of existing community-managed water tanks network would have offered a more sustainable and socially just alternative for managing water resources.

The Working Group II report, approved by 195 countries on Sunday, is replete with hundreds of examples of dangerous and irreversible consequences that India would face.

All such examples were put forward by scientists through years of painstaking research, which has been collated and analysed by a team of experts at the IPCC.

It has been estimated that globally four billion people live under conditions of severe water scarcity for at least one month per year. Nearly half of them live in India and China

The world would face numerous other unavoidable climate hazards in the next two decades with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible.

India, for example, would emerge as the most vulnerable nation in terms of crop production. Rice production can decrease from 10% to 30% whereas maize production can decrease from 25% to 70% assuming a range 25 of temperature increase from 1º to 4°C. There could be a significant drop in kokum production in the Western Ghats.

By the mid-21st century, international transboundary river basins of Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges and inter-state Sabarmati river basin in India could face severe water scarcity challenges with climate change acting as a stress multiplier.

Also read: World faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards in next 2 decades, warns IPPC report

In Asia, under a two degrees Celsius global warming scenario, coal power plants’ annual usable capacity factor in Mongolia, Southeast Asia, and parts of China and India are projected to decrease due to water constraints.

The early warning signs are here. A simulation study showed 32% of the world’s coal-fired power plants are experiencing water scarcity for at least five months or more in a year. The majority of these plants are in China (52%), followed by India (15%) and the USA (11%).

“The report is a call for action on adaptation, building resilience and reducing risks and vulnerability to impacts of climate change,” said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, reacting to the report.

“Developed countries must take the lead in urgent mitigation and providing finance for adaptation, loss and damage,” he added.

Check out latest videos from DH: