Climate Change Impacts

Why in news?

According to recent research biggest impacts of climate change is likely to be felt along coastlines across the world.

What are the recent findings on climate change impacts?

• A new study by scientists of IIT Bombay has now concluded that the impacts of climate change on India’s coasts.
• The Impacts are in terms of coastal sediment transport, shoreline erosion and overall coastal vulnerability, could be far worse than previously understood.
• The amount and rate of erosion of coastlines is generally studied using data from the past and extrapolating the changes into the future.
• One of the key variables the researchers relied on was projected wind-generated waves around Indian coastline.
• Wind vectors influence wave height as well as direction, and also the currents that in turn affect the rates of coast sediment transport and erosion.

 What are the concerns for India’s coastline?

• With a nearly 7,500-km coastline, India has a lot to worry, but sea-level rises around the Indian coastline are likely to be relatively small compared to many other regions.
• Climate change can erode coastline more intensely than ever rising sea levels.
• It is likely to reshape the coastlines and potentially inundate or even submerge many low-lying areas.
• Potential climate-change impacts on five Indian beaches and found that the rates of transport and erosion could be much higher than estimated.

What will be the impacts of climate change?

• Different locations would face different kinds of impacts, Local geo-morphology as well as factors like whether the coastline is uninterrupted or is interspersed with barriers like harbours or river-mouths play a role.
• Winds are likely to intensify and there is likely to be greater attack on beaches and coasts in the future than so far imagined, this will lead to a greater vulnerability of the coastline.
• This can have far-reaching implications for the efforts to safeguard of coasts.

What measures needs to be taken?

• Based on projected data and using new and sophisticated climate models, require to be undertaken for a better assessment of the potential impacts.
• To address this India is in the process of preparing a comprehensive vulnerability map of its coastline, which will be used to finalise a coastal zone management plan.

Source: The Indian Express