Lok Sabha Question No. 4442 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-19
Subject: Study on Climate Change
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sanjay Jaiswal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4442

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2019

## Study on Climate Change

## 4442. DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry has allocated funds for the study on climate change and its impact on India; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the results of the studies that were done so far?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a)  and  (b)  India  is  a  Party  to  the  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change (UNFCCC). In fulfillment of its commitment, India has submitted Initial National Communication  (INC)  in  2004  and  Second  National  Communication  (SNC)  in  2012  to  the UNFCCC. As part of the National Communications, the Ministry conducted studies on impact of climate change in India which are summarized in the 'Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation' chapters.  A  total  budget  of  US  $  2  million  and  US  $  3.5  million  were  allocated  by  Global Environment Facility for preparation of INC and SNC respectively.

For  the  SNC,  climate  change  scenarios  were  analysed  using  high-resolution  regional climate model. Simulations for 2020s, 2050s and 2080s indicate an all-round warming for Indian subcontinent. Impact of climate change and climate variability on the water resources are likely to  affect  irrigated  agriculture,  installed  power  capacity,  environmental  flows  in  the  dry  season and wet season.

The impact of climate change on forests in India was assessed based on the changes in area under different forest types, shifts in boundary of forest types and Net Primary Productivity (NPP).  Climate  change  will  be  an  additional  stress,  as  forests  in  India  are  subjected  to  over extraction, insect outbreaks, livestock grazing, forest fires and other anthropogenic pressures.

For  studying  the  impact  on  agriculture  a  combination  of  field  studies  and  simulation models  were  carried  out.  The  impact  of  climate  change  on  food  grains,  plantation  crops, vegetables and fruits is  variable. A  rise in  concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) will lead to enhanced yields of wheat, chickpea, green gram, pigeon pea and soybean. In most of the crops, this was accompanied by a small reduction in the protein content. In plantation crops like coconut, areca nut and cocoa increased CO2 led to higher biomass. Increased temperature and  altered  pattern  of  precipitation  might  decrease  cotton  yield  in  northern  India  with  greater extent than the southern region.

Climate plays key role in propagation of diseases either impacting directly for example by heat strokes or indirectly for example by diarrheal risk from water contamination or alteration of  important  vector  species  like  mosquitoes.  With  the  projected  increase  in  the  surface temperature,  the  human  health  impact  is  likely  to  escalate  for  malaria  with  respect  to  their virulence and spread to areas where they have not manifested so far.

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