India already witnessing climate events IPCC warned of: Report

The IPCC report has warned that more such events will take place in the coming years with a long lasting impact

Adding to the not so goo dnews on climate change in India, the country has already started witnessing the 'irreversible' climate impacts through the ‘compound events’ which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pointed out in its latest report.

In the past couple of years, various parts of India faced compound extreme events like cyclones, flash floods, and heatwaves. Compound events are a combination of two or more drivers or hazards, which cause destruction.

“The changing climate state is already altering the likelihood of extreme events, such as decadal droughts and extreme sea levels, and will continue to do so under future warming. Compound events and concurrent extremes contribute to increasing probability of low-likelihood, high-impact outcomes and will become more frequent with increasing global warming,” the IPCC report warned.

Read | Indian Ocean warming at faster pace, India to witness increased heat waves, flooding: IPCC Report

Severe cyclonic storm Tauktae in Mumbai is a recent example of a compound extreme event that took place in India in May. Tauktae started off as a “very severe cyclonic storm” then developed into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” within a few hours on May 17 morning and at the same time torrential rain flooded the city.

“These events are already happening. This is basically one extreme event triggering another or two or more extreme events taking place at the same time. The impact of such events is very high,” R Krishnan, executive director, Centre for Climate Change Research at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and one of the authors of the IPCC report, told Hindustan Times.

“For example, there can be extreme precipitation and extreme flooding at the same time. Or there is extreme heat leading to heat waves which then triggers wildfires that can make management of disasters very complicated. Another example is of tropical cyclones and extreme rainfall happening together,” he added.

Storm surge and extreme rain causing coastal flooding; drought and heat contributing to tree mortality; and wildfires increasing hailstorms and lightning are some of the adverse effects of the compound events.

India’s 7,516- km-long coastline is particularly vulnerable to compound events.

Read | Climate change irreversible: Can it be slowed down?

“It’s very simple, the Indian Ocean is warming at a higher rate compared to the global average. This is often leading to tropical cyclones intensifying very rapidly. Along with that, we have sea level rise in coastal areas. We are also seeing higher storm surge and strong winds. All of this is coming together with extreme rainfall,” Subimal Ghosh, Institute Chair Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, Mumbai and another author of the IPCC report, told the publication.

According to Ghosh, these events are not a one-time thing. In the past Cyclone Amphan, Tauktae, and Yaas, all have shown a similar pattern.

While a lot has improved since the 1999 Odisha super cyclone, India needs to achieve more accuracy while predicting cyclones R Krishnan points out.

“We need widespread awareness of climate change-related disasters and training in climate change, oceanography and meteorology should start very early from high school,” he added.