India

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India

• www.fotosearch.com
• Graham Abbott, Kristi Gangi,
• Jeff Overlock

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India

• Land size
• Total 3,287,590 sq km
• Land 2,973,190 sq km
• Water 314,400 sq km
• Population 1,095,351,995
• Labor force by occupation
• Agriculture 60
• Industry 17
• Services 23

https//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
/in.html
3
www.pnl.gov
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http//earthtrends.wri.org
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http//www.foodjustice.net
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Environmental Concerns

• Potential consequences of global climate change
• Increased Extreme Events
• ie. Droughts (decreased monsoonal rain), floods
  (increased monsoonal rain), forest fires and
  tropical cyclones.
• High Confidence (IPCC)
• Sea-level rise
• Millions of people displaced in low lying coastal
  areas
• High confidence (IPCC)
• Decreases in Agricultural Productivity
• Diminished food security
• Medium Confidence (IPCC)
• Threat of disease
• Possible increased exposure to vector-born
  infectious diseases
• Medium Confidence (IPCC)

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Climate Model Projections

• Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
• 2-3º C rise in India by 2100 if GHG emissions
  increase 1 per year
• Uncertain impacts on monsoon

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Conflicting Scientific Studies

• 2001 IPCC climate model study
• Forecast rise in global temperature in all future
  scenarios
• Increased variability and strength of monsoon
• University of Arizona study
• Abrupt climate change ie. sudden cooling of North
  Atlantic would create a weaker monsoon with less
  rainfall
• Other Researchers are still uncertain about link
  between North Atlantic and Asian monsoon

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Monsoons

• Pollution Aerosols are absorbing solar radiation
  cooler Northern Indian Ocean that repels
  monsoon
• Possible drought effects
• Global warming will strengthen southern monsoons
• Seasonal temperature difference growth between
  north and south

www.climate-concern.com
http//www.redcross.org
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Monsoon and Annual Rain Patterns (IITM)

• Western Central Areas
• Potential extra 15 dry days per year
• North Northeast Areas
• Predicted 5-10 more days of rain annually
• River basins become considerably dryer
• Constant water shortages
• Shifting forest boundaries
• Displacing/affecting biodiversity

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http//en.wikipedia.org
This map represents the very different climates
throughout the country
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Coastal Effects From Sea Level Rise

• 7500 km long densely populated coastline
• 455 people per sq km along coast
• Three major metropolitan areas
• Mumbai
• Kolkata
• Chennai

Philips Standard Reference Atlas 2006
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Coastal Climate Related Risks

• Frequent tropical cyclones
• Rise in sea level
• 1 meter rise means 7.1 million displaced
• 500,000 sq km of land and 400,000 km of road lost
• Increased wetland salinity
• Submerged mangrove
• forests

www.redcross.org
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Effects on Agriculture

• Agriculture (food supply) is heavily dependent on
  annual rainfall (monsoon)
• Climate change could impact production and
  availability (famine implications)

www.guardian.co.uk
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Threat of Disease

• Surging waters and unpredictable storms can lead
  to contamination of drinking water typhoid,
  malaria, cholera, dysentery and waterborne
  disease.

http//www.cnn.com/2
004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.disease/index.html
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Closing Thoughts

• Hazard Risk x Vulnerability

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References

• Ahmad, Summary for Policymakers, Climate Change
  2001 Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,
  2001
• Christopherson, Robert W., Geosystems, Pearson
  Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2006.
• CIA factbook http//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/
  factbook/index.html
• Discovery New HTTP//dsc.discovery.com
• Indian environmental page www.eia.gov/emeu/cabs/i
  ndiaev.html
• Recent news www.CNN.com http//www.eia.doe.gov
  www.scidev.net
• World Resources Institute EarthTrends
  http//earthtrends.wri.org/