Climate change is making Indian monsoon chaotic: Study

April 14, 2021 19:51

Climate change will make summer monsoon rainfall in India stronger and more erratic, according to a study that predicts extremely wet years in the future, with potentially grave consequences for over a billion people's well-being, economy, food systems and agriculture.

The study, published in the journal Earth System Dynamics, compared more than 30 state-of-the-art climate models from all around the world.

"We have found robust evidence for an exponential dependence: For every degree Celsius of warming, monsoon rainfalls will likely increase by about 5 per cent," said study lead author Anja Katzenberger from the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

"Hereby we were also able to confirm previous studies but find that global warming is increasing monsoon rainfall in India even more than previously thought. It is dominating monsoon dynamics in the 21st century," Katzenberger said.

The researchers noted that more rainfall is not necessarily a good thing for the farming sector in India and its neighbouring countries.

"Crops need water especially in the initial growing period, but too much rainfall during other growing states can harm plants -- including rice on which the majority of India's population is depending for sustenance," said study co-author Julia Pongratz from Ludwig-Maximilian University in Germany.

"This makes the Indian economy and food system highly sensitive to volatile monsoon patterns," said Pongratz.

A look into the past underlines that human behaviour is behind the intensification of rainfall, according to the researchers.

Starting in the 1950s, human-made forcings have begun to overtake slow natural changes occurring over many millennia, they said.

At first, high sun-light blocking aerosol loadings led to subdued warming and thus a decline in rainfall.

However, from 1980 onwards, greenhouse gas-induced warming has become the deciding driver for stronger and more erratic Monsoon seasons. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

EPL PIX: Manchester City thump Wolves; Arsenal down Bouremouth

IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.

Real Madrid secure LaLiga title after Girona thrash Barca

Ancelotti's second-string players proved they were up to the task as they secured three points for Real and kept them on course for the inevitable LaLiga title celebrations.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reports 25% rise in Q4 net profit

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday reported a 25 per cent growth in its March quarter net profit at Rs 5,302 crore, limited by a drop in the core income due to narrow interest margins. On a standalone basis, the city-headquartered lender's...

1 IAF personnel killed, 4 injured in Poonch terror attack

The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area.

IPL PIX: RCB fumble before scripting win over GT

IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, on Saturday.