4°C rise in global temp to hit daytime outings in North

New Delhi, July 19

If the world warms up by 4°C, there is a 30 per cent probability that temperatures will be so high that even a moderate outdoor work cannot be carried out during the hottest month in North India, a study on the risks of climate change has said.

There will also be a 40 per cent chance that individuals in North India will not be able to participate in competitive outdoor activities during summers, if the global temperature goes up by average 1°C.

An international group of climate scientists, energy analysts and experts from finance and military recently released an independent assessment of the risks of climate change commissioned by the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“The most important decision any government has to make about climate change is one of priority—how much effort to expend on countering it, relative to the effort that must be spent on other issues.

The report was the result of a collaboration between Harvard University Center for the Environment, Tsinghua University, China, CEEW and Cambridge University Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.

The study also said that on a high emission pathway, flooding in the Ganga basin could be six times more frequent, becoming a one-in-five-year event over the course of the century.

It also said that with 1 metre of global sea level rise, the probability of what is now a 100-year flood event becomes about 1,000 times more likely in Kolkata. The assessment considers three key areas - the future pathway of global emissions, the direct risks arising from the climate’s response to those emissions, and the risks arising from the interaction of climate change with complex human systems.

The report suggests that the largest risks of climate change may be those that are magnified by the interactions of people, markets and governments. — PTI