Reference Climate and Water Data Networks for India

Abstract

The fifth assessment report of IPCC (2013) categorically states that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.” Climate change is likely to impact almost all sectors of the economy and all sections of society. It is expected to magnify the intensity, frequency, and duration of existing climate-related risks, and at the same time give rise to new risks for natural and human systems. Some of these risks will be limited to a particular sector or region, and others will have cascading effects. Everything will not be bad; climate change is also likely to have some potential benefits. Unfortunately, the negative effects of climate change are likely to affect the populations with the least capacity to adjust. But these will be the people with the greatest need for improved infrastructure, agriculture, and energy systems to realize security and reduce poverty. Studies are therefore needed to arrive at management actions to contain the risks within acceptable limits and implement them.