Fields to furnaces: Cutting climate risks in Punjab
Unlike carbon dioxide, which lingers for centuries, cutting methane and black carbon delivers benefits within years.
Updated At : 07:27 AM Jun 09, 2025 IST
This summer in Punjab began with a punishing heatwave —- temperatures crossed 45°C in Amritsar and Ludhiana. Hospitals reported a rise in heat-related illness. Climate change is altering the risk landscape, especially for a state that has long underpinned India's food security. Yet, the drivers of this shift are not limited to carbon dioxide. A class of pollutants known as short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) — principally black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone — play an outsized role in near-term warming.
