What is the news?
- The IMD forecast an above-normal temperatures over much of India in the summer months.
- Also, the Australian international weather bureau says there is a 50% prospect of a similar phenomenon this year as well, thus indicating a debilitated monsoon and weaker agricultural prospects.
What are the facts?
- NASA has pointed out, there has been a record three-year warming trend, with 2016 the hottest and 16 of 17 warmest years recorded, occurred since 2001.
- Global weather in recent times has come under pressure from the El Nino warming that began in 2015.
- But, the effect of El Nino on the global temperature is only a small part of the overall rise, indicating that the trend could be correlated with the rise in greenhouse gases.
- India, a major emitter of GHGs, has classified 2016 as the century’s warmest year, with an increase of 0.91ºC over the long-term average.
What the government must do to adopt?
- We must shift away from further high-emission pathways in the economy and adopt leapfrogging technologies.
- It is also a call for policy initiatives to build resilience by improving water harvesting and expanding tree cover, including in cities.
- For rural India, we must build surface irrigation facilities such as ponds through the employment guarantee scheme and climate funds.
- In urban areas, more reservoirs needs to be built to augment water supply.
- A carefully planned school examination schedule could spare the students from the worst of the summer.
- Last year, schools in some states have decided to extend their summer vacations by a week or two. It might become necessary again this year.
- Administrative decisions for summer management will need to be refined on the basis of coming IMD updates.
What should be done to save farmers?
- The IMD, ICAR and agriculture universities should work towards a more precise, micro-level understanding of rainfall, temperature, crop choice and inputs, particularly in rainfed areas.
- The focus of farm research should shift towards mapping climate patterns at the taluk level over long periods to arrive at better surmises on the monsoon.
- Research focus on the effects of input-intensive farming in irrigated regions has led to the neglect of more traditional areas such as managing rain variability.
- Climate intelligence must form a more integral part of agriculture policy and extension services.
- Finally, there must be a concerted shift towards integrated, sustainable farming, with agro-forestry practices.
- Farmers need credit and support to manage this transition.
Source: The Hindu
