Cities are impacted more severely by climate change - but India's strategy is focused just on solar power

Cities are impacted more severely by climate change

Climate change affects all parts of the planet, but scientists now say cities are going to be affected far more than small towns and villages. Hydrologists and climate researchers know why cities are so vulnerable to climate change — they have altered their natural environment so much, they now create their own climates. 

Because of the higher temperatures and increased pollution, cities are expected to get less frequent rainfall, leading to water-stress. Already 15 percent of groundwater aquifers in India are in critical condition, a figure that is projected to increase to a “frightening” 60 percent by the year 2030. 

A global increase of temperature of 2 degrees C can result in an increase of 4-5 degrees C in cities. 

Other studies say that the incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold in the past 50 years, with the disease spreading to higher latitudes, as temperatures rise. 

India's climate adaptation strategy is focused only on solar power

A 2009 study showed that India's electrical system runs mostly on domestic coal: 83 percent fossil fuel, 14 percent hydropower, and 3 percent nuclear. The transportation sector runs mostly on imported oil; domestic production is 785,000 bbl/day against a demand of 2.45 million bbl/day.

India, through normal policy developments, is “making significant progress in limiting greenhouse emissions” (i.e., from what emissions might have been) through energy efficiency improvements and environmentally friendly energy development. 

India has had an almost decade-long plan to combat climate change. “The aggressive focus on renewables, particularly solar, is right. But that’s about all,” says former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh. “Dealing with climate change goes well beyond solar expansion.."