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India saw extreme weather events almost every day from Jan to Sep 2023: report

The Centre for Science and Environment said that 2,923 people died, 80,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 92,000 animals were killed. India experienced extreme weather events almost every day in the first nine months of this year which led to nearly 3,000 deaths, according to a report released on November 29. Published by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the report said the climate-vulnerable country had extreme weather on 86 per cent of days from January to September. The CSE said 2,923 people died, almost two million hectares of crops were ruined, 80,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 92,000 animals were killed. But these numbers might be even higher because not all the data is collected, it said. “’India 2023: An assessment of extreme weather events’ attempts to build an evidence base on the frequency and expanding geography of extreme weather events in the country. As this assessment clearly shows, what the country has witnessed so far in 2023 is the new ‘abnormal’ in a warming world,” said the CSE director general Sunita Narain. The new ‘abnormal’ Research indicates that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide due to climate change, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. In 2015, countries agreed in Paris to limit the average temperature rise to well below 2°C, and preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). Multiple reports suggest that the world is significantly off track to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To achieve this goal, countries together need to halve the emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane by 2030. According to the CSE report that came out ahead of the launch of the 28th round of the UN climate conference in Dubai, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of extreme weather events at 138. However, the largest number of deaths occurred in Bihar (642), followed by Himachal Pradesh (365) and Uttar Pradesh (341).

NGT panel to suggest action against red category units

New Delhi: National Green Tribunal has constituted a joint committee to suggest remedial actions after a plea claimed red category industries operating in residential areas were discharging effluents either into nearby drains or on open land, posing a serious health hazard to residents. The plea filed in the tribunal claimed that red category polluting units were operating in Gali Kuan Wali, Lal Darwaza, Sirki Walan and Lal Kuan in Delhi. It was alleged that the units, engaged in the process of washing and polishing of nuts and bolts using hydrochloric acid, were causing air and water pollution, and were operating in violation of environmental norms. The plea also claimed in NGT that these units were illegally drawing groundwater, by using illegal borewells, without any permission or NOC from the competent authority. On this, NGT constituted a joint committee comprising representative of the member secretary of Central Pollution Control Board, member secretary of Delhi Pollution Control Committee and SDM, South Delhi. “The committee is directed to visit the site to ascertain the truthfulness of the above allegations and also suggest the remedial measures and submit status and action taken report before the tribunal within a period of two months,” said the bench headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava. We also published the following articles recently NGT forms committee to probe sea turning red in PuducherryThe National Green Tribunal formed a committee to investigate the cause of the sea turning red in Puducherry. The committee will include representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board and Puducherry Pollution Control Committee, as well as experts from Pondicherry University and the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology. Samples were taken on three occasions and analyzed, with the possibility of industrial pollution as the cause. The committee will complete its investigation within two months and submit a report to the tribunal.105615866 Delhi Pollution: High influence of local sources of pollutantsCentral Pollution Control Board data shows that the average AQI in Delhi this month was in the 'severe' range on nine days. November 2023 is likely to end as the third most polluted November after 2021 and 2016, with an average AQI of 372. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, stated that adverse meteorology, farm fires, and high local pollution have contributed to the severe pollution. Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, highlighted the lack of systemic actions to reduce emissions from polluting sectors.105606232 Sarpanch to chief secy, NGT issues notice on pond pollution in AlamgirThe Ludhiana deputy commissioner has submitted a joint committee report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding pollution in five ponds of Alamgir village. NGT has requested a response from the chief secretary of Punjab and other officials by February 14. NGT is addressing a complaint filed by a local resident on May 7. The joint committee report stated that immediate action is needed to revive the neglected ponds, including removal of plastic waste and treatment of wastewater. The issue of solid waste disposal is also being addressed.

Stubble burning incidents lowest in Haryana in 3 years

GURGAON: At 2,303, Haryana has recorded fewer farm fires from September 15 to November 30 this year than in the same period the last three years. It is 37% down from 3,661 farm fires in 2022, 67% down from 6,987 in 2021 and 45% down from 4,202 in 2020. Stubble burning in Haryana Since the rains did not continue into October like the previous years, farmers started burning paddy residue earlier to empty their fields for the next crop earlier this year. Experts said that a lower count of farm fires, estimated using satellite imagery collected by Nasa, showed that the steps being taken to deter stubble burning were working and farmers were switching to newer technologies. Government officials on Thursday pointed out that the total area under paddy cultivation in the state was down to 30.4 lakh acres this year, compared to 34 lakh acres in 2022 - a change that likely contributed to reducing farm fires. For years, NCR states have been announcing a flurry of measures to reduce stubble burning as it coincides with the winter pollution season and adds harmful particles to already toxic haze over northwestern India. Neighbouring Punjab - which usually has the highest number of farm fires among the states - also saw a similar trend. Between September 15 and November 30, Punjab recorded 36,663 instances of farm fires, a 26% drop from 49,922 in the same timeframe in 2022, 48% down from 2021 (71,304) and a 55% drop compared to 83,002 in 2020. "This year, the rains stopped in August, as a result of which farmers got enough time to manage straw and prepare their land for the next crop. Also, farmers are getting help on the ground and that is reflected in the numbers," said Shubhansh Tiwari, research associate at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). "Concluding this year's post-monsoon crop burning season. MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) detected 24% and 37% fewer fires than in 2022 and the last five years' average. It was the lowest farm fire occurrences since 2012," said Hiren Jethva, senior research scientist at Nasa. The Haryana government, ahead of winter, accumulated 16,000 machines that were given to farmers for in-situ paddy straw management. It had also appointed 7,000 nodal officers and set up dedicated call centre teams to check stubble burning. Government data suggests much of the straw that was left behind after paddy harvests was utilised or sold onwards. This season, Haryana generated around 93 lakh metric tonnes of straw. Of this, 24 lakh MT was being used as cattle fodder, 31 lakh MT was being managed in-situ and 17 lakh MT ex-situ. Around 13.5 lakh tonnes of straw was procured by industries. "We are providing machinery to farmers at the earliest. We have also prepared a staggered harvesting schedule for paddy. Gram panchayats that achieved zero-burning targets will be awarded Rs 1 lakh or Rs 50,000," said Darshan Singh, technical assistant, Haryana agriculture department. Farmers said it was also a breather for them. "Farm fires were fewer as industries bought large quantities of straw. If there is utility, why would anyone burn it? Earlier, there was a lack of space to keep straw and collect it. Things are smoother now," said Teja Singh, a farmer in Karnal. Though stubble burning contributes to air pollution, experts said, it isn't the only factor causing it. "What we now need is to focus on curbing local emissions in cities across Delhi-NCR. Farm fires are already going down, and this is the way forward to reduce pollution in the region," Tiwari said. At 579, Fatehabad reported the highest number of farm fires this season, followed by Jind (343), Kaithal (262), Ambala (195), Sirsa (161), Kurukshetra (154), Karnal (126), Hisar (111), Yamunanagar (98), Sonipat (78), Rohtak (71), Palwal (57), Panipat (25), Jhajjar (20), Faridabad (9), Bhiwani (10), Charkhi Dadri (2) and Panchkula (1).

’23 hottest year on record: Report

DUBAI: Even as thousands of delegates and world leaders arrive in Dubai for the historic 28th Conference of Parties (28), which opened on Thursday, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has shown the mirror to all with a damning report that confirmed 2023 will be the warmest year on record. The provisional State of the Global Climate report said the data until the end of October shows that the year was about 1.40 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial 1850-1900 baseline. The difference between 2023, 2016 and 2020, which were previously ranked as the warmest years, is such that the final two months are very unlikely to affect the ranking. The warming El Niño event, which emerged during the Northern Hemisphere spring of 2023 and developed rapidly during summer, is likely to further fuel the heat in 2024 because El Niño typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, the report said. The report said record monthly global temperatures have been observed for the ocean – from April through to October – and, starting slightly later, the land – from July through to October. WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said it is a deafening cacophony of broken records. “These are more than just statistics. We risk losing the race to save our glaciers and to rein in sea level rise. We cannot return to the climate of the 20th century, but we must act now to limit the risks of an increasingly inhospitable climate in this and the coming centuries.” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, in a video message accompanying WMO’s climate report, urged leaders to commit to urgent action at the COP28. “There is still hope,” he said and added that there is a roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 °C and avoid the worst of climate chaos. Reacting to the report, M Ravichandran, secretary, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, told TNIE year by year these records are going to break as the warming continues. “The mitigation and adaptation are key to survive in this new normal scenario.” India is one among the most affected countries. “The Indian average rainfall remains the same, but there is shrinking spatially and temporally. There are more cloudbursts and drought. This is because, the atmosphere’s capacity to hold water has increased. If earlier it was holding 1 litre, now it is holding 2 litres and all the water is dumped on a region causing cloudburst.” Former secretary Madhavan Nair Rajeevan also said COP28 is good platform for the countries to push for mitigation and make the rich countries cut their emissions. Dr Akshay Deoras, Research Scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science & Dept. of Meteorology, University of Reading, said the trend we are witnessing in global sea surface temperatures is a very different pattern. “2015 was a big El Nino year and its impact continued till the first half of 2016 when the temperatures were at peak. In 2023, the spike in temperature was very prominent since June, which is a big difference. This year’s pattern suggests that this would be the hottest year. One thing is very clear, the El Nino will stay till the spring season, pushing temperatures to be above normal like we have seen in the past El Nino years... But if we go by the logic, the summers of 2024 would be hotter than the average. With regard to the lowest Antarctic ice, while global warming is resulting in glacial melt because of the continuous rise in emissions, the recovery of sea ice is not happening. For India, glacial melt is a big concern affecting snow cover as well as the strength of glaciers. I am afraid, persistent glacial melt could possibly trigger more events like Sikkim floods in 2023 and Pakistan floods in 2022 in the near future,” he said. As per an analysis by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, India has seen a disaster nearly every day in the first nine months of this year.

भारत में 2023 में 20 राज्यों में 200 लोगों की हीटवेव से मौत, बनाना होगा 'इंडिया कूलिंग प्लान'

जलवायु परिवर्तन और बढ़ती गर्मी जैसी चुनौतियों से निपटने के लिए दुनियाभर के नेता कॉप 28 सम्मेलन में हिस्सा लेने दुबई पहुंच रहे हैं। कॉप 28 भारत के लिए कितना अहम है ये समझने के लिए जागरण न्यू मीडिया ने कॉप 28 में हिस्से लेने पहुंचीं पर्यावरणविद और सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण से बात की। नई दिल्ली, विवेक तिवारी। जलवायु परिवर्तन और धरती के बढ़ते तापमान जैसी चुनौतियों से निपटने के लिए दुनियाभर के नेता और स्टेकहोल्डर्स कॉप 28 सम्मेलन में हिस्सा लेने दुबई पहुंच रहे हैं। यह संयुक्‍त राष्‍ट्र जलवायु परिवर्तन संधि में शामिल देशों का 28वां उच्‍च स्‍तरीय सम्‍मेलन है। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग मानव जीवन के लिए एक बड़े संकट के तौर पर उभरा है। ये संकट कितना बड़ा है इसका अंदाजा इस बात से लगाया जा सकता है कि हाल ही में संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासचिव एंटोनियो गुटेरेस ने कहा कि “मानव जाति ने नरक के द्वार खोल दिए हैं।” भारत सहित पूरी दुनिया में बढ़ती गर्मी, जंगलों की आग और मौसम की चरम घटनाओं के बीच कॉप 28 से पूरी दुनिया को बड़ी उम्मीदें हैं। जलवायु परिवर्तन को लेकर संयुक्त राष्ट्र की सबसे बड़ी संस्था की बैठक के भारत के लिए क्या मायने हैं, ये समझने के लिए जागरण न्यू मीडिया ने कॉप 28 में हिस्से लेने पहुंचीं पर्यावरणविद और सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण से बात की।

Air pollution | How to clean up

As a thick, poisonous smog engulfed Delhi this November, like so many Novembers before, the air quality level in the national capital deteriorated to its worst ever in eight years. Doctors, too, began reporting an alarming rise in complaints of respiratory disorders. In desperation, the Delhi administration reached out to experts at IIT Kanpur to conduct an experiment that they had long been contemplating—of artificial rain. Using the technique of ‘cloud seeding’, it involves dispersing silver iod­ide into the atmosphere, which aids the formation of ice crystals in clouds and triggers precipitation. Its use is mostly in dispelling drought in an area, but Delhi wanted to try it—for the first time—to clean its air of pollutants. Fortunately, Mother Nature intervened and unexpected showers washed away the smog, restoring some of the air quality. But with its Air Quality Index (AQI), a pollution indicator, continuing to hover at ‘hazardous’ levels, Delhi kept the cloud-seeding aircraft on standby. However, while Delhi’s smog story is a familiar one, it is by no means the only one in the country. Of the 242 cities for which the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released data on November 14, two days after Diwali this year, the air quality in only 40 was in the ‘satisfactory’ to ‘good’ range. On that day, the air quality was ‘severe’ in three cities, ‘very poor’ in 32, ‘poor’ in another 64, and ‘moderate’ in 106. Bharatpur in Rajasthan was the most polluted, with its AQI of 405 beating Delhi’s 377. The smog did not spare India’s financial capital either this year, with Mumbai’s air quality remaining ‘hazardous’ for several days. AQI levels are considered ‘hazardous’ when they breach the 150 mark. It is a problem that has been staring us in the face for the past few decades, and is now beginning to tall on our bodies, as our lead feature details. Successive governments, at the Centre as well as in the states, have launched measures to improve the air quality of their cities, but the crisis keeps getting worse. Realising that the situation was getting out of hand and calling for sustai­ned action, the Narendra Modi government launched the National Clean Air Programme in January 2019 to improve the air quality in 131 cities where the air pollution levels exceeded permissible levels and bring them down to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Close to Rs 20,000 crore until FY26 was allotted to the project. The Centre, along with independent experts from institutions like the IITs, worked with state governments and civic bodies in these cities to come up with individual air-shed plans to monitor, analyse and control the main sources of pollution, whether vehicular emissions, construction and road dust, garbage disposal or industrial pollution. Now midway into the plan, the Centre claims that 90 cities have shown improved air quality, and 15 of them have met the required air quality standards. “The whole approach to control air pollution in urban centres has gathered momentum only in the past few years,” says Leena Nandan, secretary, Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC). “We realised that we couldn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach, so each city was asked to come up with an air-shed approach that has a technical appreciation of its unique circumstances and problems and how to deal with them. We’ve achieved much, but there is still a lot of distance to cover.” Meanwhile, an October 2022 report by McKinsey broke down the various factors contributing to pollution and deduced that the power sector accounted for 34 per cent, industry, including the construction sector, 28 per cent, agriculture 17.8 per cent and the transport segment 9 per cent of the problem of pollution. These may be ballpark estimates, and may well vary in individual air-shed regions. For instance, an ongoing study by IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and TERI shows that, at 30 per cent, the transport sector is one of the highest average percentage contributors to the PM2.5 levels in Delhi. But while the four polluting sectors—automobiles, agriculture, power and construction—may afflict individual cities and zones in varying degree, they remain the chief villains in India’s air pollution woes. Combating them requires both short and long term measures. Here are a few of them. For a country as large as India, the sheer number of motor vehicles on its roads can be mind-numbing. We had 210 million two-wheelers and 70 million four-wheelers registered as on August 3, 2022. FY23 alone saw 22 million new vehicles, including 16 million two-wheelers and 3.6 million passenger vehicles. Vehicular emission is now the number one cause of pollution in many of India’s major cities. The exhaust pipes of vehicles emit a deadly cocktail of fumes and particulate matter that include dangerous oxides of nitrogen and sulphur besides air toxics such as carbon monoxide and benzene. To address the issue, India has since 2000 been following the Bharat Stage (BS) emission standards, modelled on the EU norms. The BS standards regulate tailpipe emissions of air pollutants. In April 2020, India leapfrogged from BS-IV to BS-VI implementation, with the current standards similar to EU-6/VI norms. Under the new norms, a vehicle should emit at least 80 per cent less particulate matter for every kilometre it travels. The sulphur content in fuel dropped fivefold—from 50 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm. NO2 fumes from diesel cars dropped by 70 per cent and by 5 per cent in petrol cars. From April 1, 2023, automakers have switched to a more stringent version, the BS-VI Phase 2. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency also monitors energy efficiency or CO2 emissions. Onboard diagnostic systems for vehicles to monitor pollution have been made compulsory, besides selective catalytic reduction systems and particulate filters for exhausts. Of course, all these measures have pushed up the cost of vehicles, especially of cars. “Stringent emission norms will add to the cost of vehicles, and will hit the entry level segment the hardest,” says Gaurav Vaangal, principal analyst with S&P Global. Industry sources estimate the cost impact of the changeover from BS-IV to BS-VI to be in the range of Rs 20,000-Rs 40,000 for petrol cars and even higher for diesel cars. And, if sources are to be believed, the road ministry has begun preparatory work to introduce BS-VII standards, so that India does not lose the momentum on getting less polluting vehicles on its roads that are in step with the global standards of emission. BS-VII will be equivalent to the new Euro 7 norms the European Commission introduced last year. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court banned diesel vehicles that were 10 years old and petrol ones that were over 15 years old from plying on Delhi’s roads and mandated that they be scrapped. In 2021, the Centre had also mandated the same for all commercial vehicles more than 15 years old and passenger vehicles more than 20 years old. Together, they are expected to take more than 5 million vehicles off the roads. However, implementation of stricter vehicular pollution norms is in the hands of states. And how lax things are is evident in the ‘Pollution under Control’ (PUC) checks on the ground in some states even though the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked general insurers not to issue insurance to vehicles without a valid PUC certificate. Incentivising the use of electric vehicles or EVs is the other significant initiative that the government is pushing to reduce vehicular pollution. Driven by a host of government subsidies and measures, including the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) policy with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore and the expansion of charging infrastructure, sales of EVs topped the one million mark in less than nine months in 2023, according to media reports in September. So far, more than 1.1 million vehicles have been supported under FAME-II. But there’s still a long way to go, as EV adoption remains slow—their sales comprised a measly 5.6 per cent of total vehicle sales in FY23. Poor charging infrastructure, higher price tags compared to conventional vehicles in the same category and poor sales among fleet operators may be to blame. In the longer term, though, there is no better solution than to encourage the public in big cities to use the mass transport system to reduce the number of individual vehicles on the roads. Bengaluru, for instance, is looking forward to the completion of the metro rail. Currently, the Bengaluru Metro network covers 73.81 km and another 101.25 km is under construction. More and more cities are also looking at EV options to augment their public transport fleets. Delhi, for instance, is looking to induct 950 electric buses. This August, the Centre launched the PM ebus Sewa, with the aim to procure 10,000 e-buses in 169 cities. Meanwhile, there are several ways in which pollution from commercial vehicles can be curbed. These include switching to cleaner fuels like CNG, using low-emission vehicles in fleets, periodical inspection and maintenance of vehicles, including cleaning of their tailpipes. The other option is to use commercial EVs or go for hydrogen generated through green sources. In fact, stakeholder consultation has started on creating a policy framework for hydrogen fuel in India. In 2018, the Centre exempted battery-operated vehicles, and vehicles driven on methanol or ethanol from getting a permit to carry passengers or goods. The Centre has also notified the blending of gasoline with methanol in order to reduce vehicle emissions. Transport minister Nitin Gadkari had set an ambitious target of a 10 per cent reduction in the import dependence of oil and gas by 2022 from the 2014-15 levels through these methods. At the same time, the Centre will have to ensure that it lessens the amount of pollution being emitted from coal-fired thermal plants. Coal combustion emits large amounts of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which make up the toxic particulate matter that hangs in the atmosphere as poisonous smog causing respiratory trouble for humans. The problem is fairly acute in Delhi, going by an estimate the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) presented on November 27, according to which thermal power plants contribute around 8 per cent to the PM in the air in Delhi-NCR. Coal-based thermal power plants were held responsible for aggravating the air pollution in Delhi-NCR, since a majority do not comply with emission control norms. This despite the MoEFCC notifying emissions standards for thermal power plants for SOx and NOx, and revising norms for PM in 2015. The notification required compliance within two years, but a five-year extension was given later to all except those in Delhi-NCR, which were given until 2019 to comply due to the region’s high pollution levels.

Emissions Gap Report: World facing ‘hellish’ 3C of climate heating, UN warns Cop28

The latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report (EGR) has found that today’s carbon-cutting policies are so inadequate that 3°C of heating would be reached this century. Each year, the UN’s EGR series tracks global progress in limiting global warming well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement. To meet 1.5°C target, 22 billion tonnes of CO2 must be cut from the currently projected total in 2030, the report said. That is 42% of global emissions and equivalent to the output of the world’s five worst polluters: China, US, India, Russia and Japan. The report said that implementing future policies already promised by countries would reduce 0.1°C from the 3°C limit. Putting in place emissions cuts pledged by developing countries on condition of receiving financial and technical support would cut the temperature rise to 2.5°C, still devastating, the Guardian reported. In a separate report, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said climate heating gases in atmosphere such as CO2 reached record highs in 2022, there is no end in sight to the rising trend, which is largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels. The report said that the concentration of carbon dioxide is now 50% higher than before the start of the Industrial Revolution. The Earth has not experienced similar levels of CO2 for 3-5 million years, when the global temperature was 2-3°C warmer and sea level was 10-20 metres higher than today, the WMO said. Other main greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, also grew, according to the report, published ahead of the UN’s COP28 climate summit. CSE report: India faced extreme weather events nearly daily in first 9 months of this year According to an analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India witnessed extreme weather events nearly daily in the first nine months this year, claiming an estimated 2,923 human lives, affecting 1.84 million hectares (ha) of crop area, destroying over 80,563 houses, and killing nearly 92,519 livestock, HT reported. CSE researchers said the losses and damages could be higher as data for each event was not collated nor were the losses of public property or crops calculated. Using data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and home ministry, the report said India recorded extreme weather events on 235 of the 273 days (86%) from January 1 to September 30 in different parts of the country. Record-breaking temperatures were reported for months. Regions across the country were also deluged because of very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall. Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of days with extreme weather events—every second day. Bihar suffered the highest number of human losses at 642, followed by Himachal Pradesh (365) and Uttar Pradesh (341). ‘Colonial rule nearly doubles UK’s historical contribution to climate change’ The latest analyses of historical emissions by Carbon Brief shows that the UK is responsible for nearly twice as much global warming as previously thought because of its colonial history. The article states that historical emissions matter because the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted since the start of the industrial revolution is closely tied to the record temperatures expected in 2023. In earlier assessments, the UK’s historical cumulative (CO2 from fossil fuels, cement, land use, land use change and forestry) emissions, at 3.0% of the global share, ranked it the eighth-largest contributor to current warming, behind the US (1), China (2), Russia (3), Brazil (4), Germany (5), Indonesia (6) and its former colony India (7). The new analyses in the light of its colonial past holds the UK responsible for 5.1% of global share of warming, pushing it up to fourth place historically, after the US, China and Russia and followed by India, Brazil and Germany. Within the borders of the country, the UK released some 76.4 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2) between 1850-2023 (3.0% of global cumulative emissions over the same period). After adding emissions the UK caused in its colonies, they rise to 130.2 GtCO2. China’s CO2 emissions falling, likely to touch net-zero decade earlier in 2050 According to an analyses published by Carbon Brief, China’s CO2 emissions may be falling already. The country’s emissions were expected to fall next year and potentially enter structural decline. China’s target of net-zero by 2060 is likely to be achieved a decade earlier than previously assumed, in a “remarkable turn of events”, the article published in the Telegraph states adding that a 2024 Decrease in power sector carbon emissions “is essentially locked in”. China is likely to see a fall in total CO2 emitted in the first half of next year, in part driven by the “staggering” growth of clean energy bases, which is going “hand in hand” with higher rates of approvals for new coal plants that will likely remain idle as renewable energy capacity grows. Lancet on health and climate change: Heat-related deaths to rise 370% by 2050 The annual Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report says climate change is on track to cause a 370% surge in heat-related deaths by mid-century “if government inaction on global warming continues”. The report also concludes that every health hazard it monitors is predicted to worsen if temperatures rise to 2°C by the end of the century. Citing the Lancet findings DTE wrote In India, 191 billion potential labour hours were lost due to heat exposure in 2022. Agricultural workers are the worst affected in many countries, with the burden often shifting to those in construction in higher income countries, the report stated. US National Climate Assessment report: US regions will suffer a stunning variety of climate-caused disasters The US released its Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA) report that said hotter temperatures and extreme weather are impacting every corner of the US, according to the country’s latest climate assessment. The outlet says while many regions are experiencing heavy showers more frequently, others are seeing worsening drought, and some are getting both. These changes are translating into greater stresses on public health through worsening heatwaves, wildfires, hurricanes, floods and the psychological toll of mounting disaster, the report said. The report appeared at a time when the state of Florida was battling power cuts amid heavy rains and high winds. More than 100,000 Floridians were without power. One-day temperatures breach 2°C warming point for first time: Report On November 17, global temperatures, for the first time, rose more than 2°C hotter than levels before industrialisation, according to preliminary data shared on X by Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, based in Europe. Attributed to El Nono and long-term human-caused climate change, the temperature crossed a crucial threshold that scientists have been warning for decades could have catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the planet and its ecosystems, data shared by a prominent climate scientist shows, the CNN reported. The dreaded limit was crossed briefly and does not mean that the world is at a permanent state of warming above 2°C, the report said adding that it is a symptom of a planet getting steadily hotter and hotter, and moving towards a longer-term situation where climate crisis impacts will be difficult—in some cases impossible—to reverse.

Internal Doc Reveals Biden’s Troubling Climate Summit Plans

The United States and the European Union (EU) are usually close allies at the world’s annual climate negotiations — but according to internal documents obtained by The Lever, tensions have arisen between the two blocs in the run-up to this year’s summit. As world leaders head to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this week, the U.S. is undermining efforts to set stringent standards for a new global carbon market that would allow polluters to help fund carbon-reduction efforts to compensate for their emissions. According to the Nov. 8 background paper, written by an executive working group in the Council of the European Union, the U.S. is backing a largely unregulated, voluntary system of trading emission offsets, even though such voluntary schemes have been plagued by questionable climate benefits, harms to indigenous communities, and outright corruption. The authors write, “In our view, accepting a standard based on the [voluntary carbon market] may hinder the independence and trust that compliance carbon markets need to contribute towards the achievement of international climate goals.” Experts say the U.S. is going this route, rather than backing a more stringent United Nations (U.N.)-regulated carbon market favored by the EU and other stakeholders, because the Biden administration is hoping private-sector climate solutions and corporate responsibility will help gloss over the fact that the country is continuing to break records for fossil fuel production and is the biggest laggard in terms of paying its fair share of finance for the emissions it has wrought on the world. “The U.S. government has trouble delivering climate finance and now basically sees private investment, including [through] carbon markets, as an opportunity to showcase that they are delivering climate finance,” said Sven Harmeling, international climate policy coordinator for the non-profit coalition Climate Action Network Europe. “But we know that [money via carbon markets] is not climate finance. Climate finance means public funding.” For the first time in his presidency, President Joe Biden will not be attending the annual climate summit. In response to a request for comment, the U.S. delegation to the summit declined to answer questions on the record. An Emissions Reduction Strategy “That Risks Backfiring” In 1992, countries around the world signed the U.N.’s first climate change treaty to coordinate global action to tackle the climate crisis. In 2015, after two decades without meaningful action, 195 participating countries signed the Paris Agreement, further hashing out details of climate action and the necessity to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees celsius and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees At this year’s annual climate talks from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, known by the acronym COP28, negotiations are focused on a handful of core themes like the clean energy transition, slashing carbon emissions, climate finance from rich countries to support climate action in poorer countries, and assessing the progress of global climate action efforts so far. Another key task is to establish an international carbon market governed by the U.N. In recent months, the U.N.’s supervisory body has been setting guidelines to ensure such an international carbon market “benefits the environment, host countries, and buyers alike.” Their recommendations are intended to govern the market, and will be discussed at COP28. Carbon markets allow companies, individuals, and countries to buy credits associated with carbon-reduction efforts to compensate for their emissions. For example, highly polluting companies in the manufacturing sector or the aviation industry can invest in forest conservation and use the credits from this investment — with prices set per ton — to offset their emissions. Countries can do this, too: Switzerland has signed bilateral deals with Ghana and Vanuatu to purchase carbon credits to meet its international emission reduction goals. There are two types of carbon markets: voluntary markets, in which companies and organizations negotiate deals, and compliance markets that are government mandated. California’s cap-and-trade program, a compliance market framework, sets a limit on industries’ greenhouse gas emissions, but allows them to trade in case they exceed the limit. Neither market is ideally regulated at present (concerns have been raised, for example, about the efficacy of California’s program). One overarching worry is that carbon credits are often made through compensatory carbon-sink projects like reforestation projects that can rob agency from the people who live there. But voluntary markets are considered by many to be especially inadequate, since they rely on corporate responsibility to decarbonize their industries. Existing standards for the voluntary market are currently designed by self-appointed bodies like the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative. These standards are “full of loopholes,” said Avantika Goswami, program manager of climate change projects at India’s Centre for Science and Environment. She explained that the voluntary carbon market needs “regulation, a public and independently managed registry, and high scrutiny of projects to determine integrity and benefit-sharing with communities on the ground.” A recent investigation by the Centre for Science and Environment found that voluntary markets in India failed on two counts: Emission reduction outcomes were either inflated or almost nonexistent, and revenue from the sale of carbon credits wasn’t shared with local communities. Researchers also found that many of the carbon-offset projects lacked transparency, and that some community members who were involved in these projects had no clue what carbon credits were. Two months ago, research from University of California, Berkeley on voluntary markets raised additional concerns about inflated credit values and the potential marginalization of forest-dependent communities. Reporting has found that the voluntary market’s largest firm sold millions of credits for carbon reductions that didn’t exist. Meanwhile, private demand for these voluntary credits has declined, and the credit price has plummeted. Despite its shortcomings, the unregulated carbon market boomed to a value of $2 billion per year in 2021. Gilles Dufrasne, policy lead on global carbon markets at Belgium-based nonprofit research organization Carbon Market Watch, said carbon credits could be a way for companies to finance climate action beyond their own production processes, but shouldn’t be a substitute for internal emission reductions. “Allowing loose rules that will incentivize the purchase of carbon credits at any cost is a strategy that risks backfiring, when companies end up investing a lot of money in credits that do not deliver real emission reductions, while failing to decarbonize their own activities.” Internal Divisions The new international carbon market that world leaders are negotiating at COP28 is a compliance framework with legally mandated limits. The finalization of these rules and their full implementation is “imperative for COP28,” said Trishant Dev, program officer of climate change projects at India’s Centre for Science and Environment and the lead author of the study that exposed loopholes in the way voluntary carbon markets are currently functioning in India. But instead of seeking guardrails for a global carbon market, the U.S. seems to be moving in the opposite direction. According to the Nov. 8 memo obtained by The Lever, the Council of the European Union, one of the EU’s two main legislative bodies, warned that at COP28, the U.S. was set to advocate for building on existing voluntary carbon market standards for the international carbon market, as opposed to establishing a new robust framework with stringent standards. According to the authors, the EU Council had concerns that such weaker carbon market standards could lead to “over-crediting, disadvantaging host countries and deviating from the pathway necessary to reach the Paris Agreement long-term goals.” They added that the U.S. is promoting the usage of carbon credits without clarifying the accounting rules that could ensure their integrity and transparency, and “pressing hard for a prompt finalization of the guidance, without much concerns for quality/robustness but driving a lot of attention and time to solve their very specific concerns.” Dufrasne at Carbon Market Watch said the different approaches on a global carbon market reflect how the EU has historically been more active on climate action than the U.S. According to Dufrasne, the European public is putting more pressure on companies to act, compared to the American public. The memo hints at another potential reason that the U.S. is pushing for weaker carbon market regulations: the matter of climate finance, or funding that rich countries pay to poorer countries to help finance climate action, to account for the former’s historically high emissions. In the last few months, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who will be attending the Dubai summit, has said climate action “takes trillions and no government that I know of is ready to put trillions into this on an annual basis”. (Nevermind that billions in U.S. public funding has gone to support foreign military aid in Ukraine alone, or that the effects of climate inaction could cost trillions of dollars per year.) Simultaneously, Kerry has repeatedly emphasized the private sector’s role in the clean energy transition. A voluntary carbon market could, at least in theory, make it easy to channel money from the American business sector to climate action initiatives by funding projects like forest conservation or development of renewable energy capacity. But as research has demonstrated, the voluntary market suffers from serious integrity and transparency issues. The voluntary market is “unregulated, fraudulent, and open to ebbs and flows,” said Goswami at the Centre for Science and Environment. “Committing [to] this market as the tool for [an] energy transition, which requires investment in public goods like renewable energy and transmission infrastructure in developing countries, is like leaving the clean-energy future of the Global South to the whims of an unreliable market.” Goswami added, “The U.S. cannot let the private sector dictate the scrutiny and oversight in these markets — it must be determined by the multilateral process [at climate negotiations like COP28].”

COP 28 Dubai Summit Kicks Off Today; Know More About India's Role & Plans At The Global Climate Summit

The United Arab Emirates is gearing up to host the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with the conference set to run from November 30 to December 12, 2023. More than 70,000 delegates from around the globe are expected to converge on the UAE, with a collective mission to expedite the energy transition and drastically reduce emissions. COP 28, the world's multilateral decision-making forum on climate change, assumes particular significance against the backdrop of recent geopolitical challenges, including the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's ongoing military actions in Ukraine. Global leaders are set to tackle pressing issues related to emissions mitigation targets, fossil fuel phase-out, financial support from developed nations, industry-led solutions, low-carbon innovation, and bridging the gaps between developed and developing nations. As a developing nation, India's role at COP 28 takes centre stage. Not only is India among the top emitters of greenhouse gases, but it also harbours the world's largest population. The negotiations for India will be a delicate balancing act, aiming to remain ambitious while ensuring equity. The key themes to watch out for include India's methane emissions, loss and damage finance, and the contentious issue of coal-fired power plants. India faces a significant challenge in curbing methane emissions, particularly from the agricultural sector. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) deems these emissions as 'survival emissions,' emphasizing the need for India to address agriculture and also the oil, gas, and waste sectors. India, experiencing extreme weather events at an alarming rate, must underscore the importance of 'loss and damage finance.' As the Centre for Science and Environment notes, estimating economic, non-economic, and ecological losses due to climate change impacts is crucial for India's resilience.

Andhra Pradesh experienced highest heat wave days in south India in 2023

VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh experienced 45 days of extreme weather events between January and September 2023. These inclement weather days included 22 heatwave days, the highest among all the south Indian states in 2023. The neighbouring Telangana reported 13 heatwave days in 2023, whereas Karnataka recorded abnormally hot weather for four days, according to 'India's Atlas on Weather Disasters' report of the Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth. The report was prepared based on data of India Meteorological Department (IMD), disaster management division of the Union ministry of home affairs, and media reports. Cold wave days on the decline in state These extreme events claimed the lives of 45 people in Andhra Pradesh and affected crops in 9,000 hectares. Being a coastal state, Andhra Pradesh is highly vulnerable to vagaries of the weather. The state experiences one or two heatwave spells every summer, lasting about a week, particularly in the second half of May. In fact, AP faced the maximum heat wave casualties in the country in the last one decade. However, 2023 presented altogether a different scenario with the state witnessing record temperatures in June. For instance, Waltair centre of IMD recorded 43.4 degrees Celsius on June 10, the all-time highest maximum temperature for Vizag city, surpassing the earlier record of 42 degrees Celsius from 1978. Etcherla in Srikakulam reported 46.8 degrees Celsius on June 17, the season's highest for Andhra Pradesh as per the state government's data. Several academic institutions had to postpone the commencement of the new academic year with the extended heatwave conditions in the state in June. The state government operated the schools only for half days (7:30 am to 11:30 am) for several days even after reopening due to the inclement weather. The delayed onset of monsoon and increased humidity levels further exacerbated the conditions in coastal areas like Visakhapatnam until the fourth week of June. Former head of the Andhra University department of meteorology and oceanography Prof OSRU Bhanu Kumar said that the maximum temperatures are going northwards with each passing year. "The last eight years were the warmest years recorded on the Earth. The temperatures are fast increasing due to global warming. It is high time we wake up to the fact of global warming and act accordingly," said Prof Bhanu Kumar. Meanwhile, in an indication of the growing number of warmer-than-usual days, the cold wave days have been on the decline in Andhra Pradesh. The year 2022 recorded only one cold wave day, the lowest in the last 12 years for AP. Similar conditions prevailed even this November, recording higher than normal temperatures in the winter.

2,923 Killed in Daily Natural Disasters in India in Jan-Sept

Extreme weather events occurred in India daily from January to September, according to a latest report produced by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down to Earth (DTE). During these nine months, disasters like cold waves, cyclones and lightning to heavy rain, floods and landslides claimed 2,923 lives in the country. Near-daily disasters this year destroyed more than 1.84 million hectares of cropland and 80,563 houses and killed nearly 92,519 livestock. Named as ‘India 2023: An assessment of extreme weather events’, the details of the report can be found here. Even the seemingly great amount of loss of lives and properties may be an underestimate, the report suggests, as data for each of the disaster events are not collated and the loss of public property and crops due to those events are not calculated. The days with extreme weather events were highest in Madhya Pradesh (HP) occurring every second day. In terms of loss of human lives, Bihar topped with 642 deaths, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 365 and Uttar Pradesh (UP) at 341. Punjab again reported the highest numbers of animal deaths at 63,649. HP also reported the highest number of damaged houses at 15,407. From January 1 to September 30, that is in 273 days, extreme weather events were reported in all states and union territories on 235 days, which is around 86%. The CSE/DTE report divided the nine months into three categories according to the seasons—winter (January-February), pre-monsoon (March-May) and monsoon (June-September). The summary of day-wise extreme weather events within the study period is portrayed in the figure below.

Extreme weather in 2023 claimed nearly 3,000 lives in India, reveals CSE report

In the first three quarters of 2023, India faced an onslaught of extreme weather events, resulting in nearly 3,000 fatalities, according to a recently published report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report, issued by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), outlined that India faced extreme weather on roughly 86% of the days from January to September 2023. It also said that as many as 2,923 people lost their lives, destruction spanning almost two million hectares of crops, the annihilation of 80,000 homes, and the demise of over 92,000 animals. However, the actual numbers might surpass these figures due to incomplete data collection, according to the CSE. CSE's Director-General, Sunita Narain, emphasized the report's significance, stating that the year's weather was the 'new normal' in a world grappling with escalating temperatures. Madhya Pradesh witnessed the highest number of extreme weather events, reaching 138, while Bihar faced the most significant loss of life at 642, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In different regions, distinct impacts were felt. Kerala grappled with the most extreme weather days and deaths, while Telangana suffered immense agricultural losses. Uttar Pradesh, in the northwest, experienced the highest number of extreme weather days, alongside several other affected states. The eastern and northeastern regions faced their unique challenges, with Assam recording numerous extreme weather events and significant agricultural destruction. Nagaland witnessed extensive property damage. Moreover, the CSE highlighted specific months breaking weather records, emphasizing the significance of the patterns observed in January and February. Lightning and storms proved to be the most prevalent disasters, causing numerous casualties, particularly in Bihar. However, heavy rains, floods, and landslides resulted in substantial devastation, with over 1,900 casualties. Beyond these findings, another study revealed that over 80% of the Indian population resides in districts susceptible to climate-related risks, underscoring the widespread vulnerability to such weather upheavals.

232 lives lost in South India due to extreme weather events in first 9 months of 2023, says report

The south peninsular region of India reported its warmest June on record in 2023, according to a report on extreme weather events in India during the first nine months of this year. Highlighting an urgent need for action to prevent extreme weather events in India, the Centre for Science and Environment — a public interest research and advocacy organisation — and Down To Earth magazine released the report “India 2023: An assessment of extreme weather events”. The report said that, in India, 235 out of the 273 days from 1 January to 30 September this year witnessed extreme weather events, and the south peninsular region witnessed extreme weather events on 143 days. Kerala witnessed 64 such days, which claimed 56 lives — the highest in South India. The report also said that Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of days (138) with extreme weather events and Bihar saw the highest number of human deaths at 642, followed by Himachal Pradesh (365 deaths) and Uttar Pradesh (341 deaths). Himachal Pradesh reported the highest number of damaged houses (15,407) and Punjab reported the highest number of animal deaths (63,649) during the aforementioned period. Extreme weather events in the South The report showed that India experienced extreme weather events on around 86 percent of the days from 1 January to 30 September. Extreme weather events in South India. Extreme weather events in South India. “These events claimed 2,923 human lives, affected 1.84 million hectares of crop area, damaged 80,563 houses, and killed over 92,519 animals,” the report said. According to the report, 2,755 deaths were recorded during the same period in 2022. The events claimed 232 human lives, damaged 93,077.43 hectares of crop area and 20,035 houses, and killed 1,053 animals in South India. In this period, Kerala witnessed the highest number of days with extreme weather events and the deaths related to this, with 67 days of extreme weather events and 60 deaths during the analysed period. In the same period, the highest area of crops affected was in Telangana, with 62,811.43 hectares. The state also witnessed the largest number of animal deaths due to extreme weather conditions: 645. The most number of houses damaged was in Karnataka: 11, 917. The south peninsula also recorded its eighth hottest day temperature in January since 1901. Occurrence of the events The India Meteorological Department (IMD), classifies lightning and thunderstorms, heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall, landslides, floods, coldwaves, heatwaves, cyclones, snowfall, dust and sandstorms, squalls, hailstorms, and gales as extreme weather events. India experienced lightning and storms on 176 of the 273 days, and they claimed 711 human lives. In the south, Telangana witnessed the highest number of days with lightning and storms — 21 — which claimed 10 human lives. India experienced heavy rains, floods, and landslides on 132 days during the period, and they claimed 1,903 human lives. Kerala witnessed 64 such days that claimed 56 lives — the highest in South India. In the same period, Andhra Pradesh had 22 days with heatwaves, with the country recording a total of 49 days with 201 deaths. South India did not record any deaths due to heatwaves. Only a total of six cold waves were recorded in the south, with four in Karnataka and two in Telangana, while the country recorded a total of 21 such spells. According to the report, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) declared that 2023 was on track to be the warmest year on record globally, with a greater-than-99-percent likelihood. The IMD has reported that India in 2023 saw its warmest-ever August and September in 122 years. The report said it was “an attempt to build an evidence base on the frequency and expanding geography of extreme weather events in India.” It added: “This is extremely important as currently fragmented data on extreme weather events is publicly available and fails to provide the overall picture.”

3,000 lives lost in India’s 2023 extreme weather toll

A stark climate study published on Wednesday reveals that nearly 3,000 people have lost their lives due to extreme weather disasters that relentlessly struck India almost every day in the first nine months of this year. The report, “India 2023: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events,” conducted by the climate advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth magazine, highlights the relentless nature of weather disasters, ranging from heat and cold waves, cyclones, lightning, heavy rain, floods, and landslides. The disasters “hit the country with tenacious and frightening regularity,” according to the report. “These disasters have claimed 2,923 human lives,” said the study, warning that the “more alarming” is the fact that “in all probability, these calculations could be an underestimation.” “Data for each event is not collated, nor are losses of public property or agriculture calculated.” The impact extends beyond the loss of lives, affecting 1.84 million hectares of crop area, destroying over 80,000 houses, and causing the death of more than 92,000 livestock, according to the study. The study claims that its findings provide evidence based on the frequency and expanding geography of extreme weather events in the country of 1.4 billion people. “The country has witnessed…the new abnormal in a warming world,” said CSE head Sunita Narain. The report notes that January 2023 was slightly warmer than average, but February set records as the warmest in 122 years. The country experienced its sixth driest February and its driest August this year. “Disaster-wise, lightning and storms were the most frequent. On 176 out of 273 days, they killed 711 people. Most of them died in Bihar. But the maximum havoc was wreaked by a combination of heavy rains, floods, and landslides due to which over 1,900 people lost their lives,” said the report. The report indicates that 2023 was more devastating compared to 2022. “The impact of extreme weather events has been worse and been felt across the country in 2023, compared to” fewer places last year, said Kiran Pandey, one of the authors of the report. Narain said what the report found “is the watermark of climate change.” “It is not about a single event, but about the increased frequency of such events,” she said. “An extreme event that we used to witness once every 100 years, has now begun to occur every five years or even less. This is breaking the back of our poorest, who are the worst affected and fast losing their capacities to cope.”