Why Did India Experience Slower Warming in the Past but is Now Heating up Faster?
Previously, warming in India has been typically slower than the average warming seen elsewhere on the planet. According to Harvard University climate scientist Daniel P. Schrag, scientists expect this will change in the coming decades due to reduction in two factors, one is high levels of aerosols from pollution and two is large scale agricultural irrigation.
He stated, “The good news is that India has not warmed as quickly, it is expected to warm faster in the next 20 to 40 years.”
Both aerosols and irrigation have likely contributed to India’s slower warming. Aerosols reflect sunlight and suppress warming in the short term while irrigation adds soil moisture and leads to evaporation which has a temporary cooling effect on temperature.
These protective factors may lessen as air quality in India improves and land surface characteristics modified by changing agricultural practices are taken into consideration. Global warming is expected to reach 3.5 to 4°C as we move toward the end of the century and while India should see accelerated warming in the next 20 to 40 years, the rate of climate warming will already be significant.
The Union environment ministry’s conference at Harvard, “India 2047 Building A Climate Resilient Future” focuses on finding scalable solutions for climate resilience particularly in areas like agriculture, public health and urban planning. India prepares for a future of higher temperatures and unpredictable climate patterns so it’s better to be prepared.
