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Climate Change in South Asia: Impact, Adaptation and the Role of GI Science
Anuj Kumar and Swami Prasad Saxena*
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Dayalbagh, India
Abstract
South Asia is the home of more than 20% of the world population. The region faces high population pressure and the problem of degradation of natural resources, food insecurity, and poverty, making this region more vulnerable to climate change. The increasing temperature, melting of Himalaya ice with a high rate, rising sea level in coastal areas, floods, increasing frequency of cyclones, etc., are significant indicators of climate change in South Asia. The region depends on the monsoon for the rainfall, but rainfall is changing, and monsoon rainfall is declining year by year. The rising temperatures will negatively impact water resources and agriculture yield directly. The declining rainfall and changing rainfall patterns will affect the timing of harvesting and seeding of crops. Remote Sensing and GIS help adapt to climate change by providing real-time information, early warning, and assisting in damage assessment. The region needs a collective policy framework and adequate knowledge about the impact, adaption, and mitigation towards climate change so that sustainable development objectives can be achieved in the South Asia region.
Keywords: Climate change, South Asia, economic cost of climate change, rainfall, sea level rise, adaptation
1.1 Introduction
South Asia is a major part of the Asia continent, and this subcontinent is also known as the Indian subcontinent. This region of Asia comprises eight countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. One-fifth of the worldâs population lives in this region of Asia. The region is full of natural resources like the river system of Indus, Ganga, and Brahmputra, Himalayan Mountains, the desert of Thar, and plains of the Indo-Gangetic river system. The area is high density due to adequate living conditions and a high birth rate. The major part of the population depends on agriculture to earn their livelihood, but in the current century, the dependency on agriculture is declining, and the region has proliferated in the last three decades. The rapid urbanization reduces the importance of agriculture, and the share of the service and manufacturing sector increased in total GDP. Still, the dependency on agriculture is relatively high in the region as it is the primary source of employment [1]. The over-dependency on agriculture is the main reason for poverty in the region.
In the current century, Climate Change emerges as the biggest issue in the region. The issue of climate change impacts all spheres of life of peoples of South Asia. Income from agriculture is declining, and farmers have to invest more in adaptation [2]. The declining yield of major food grains is creating a threat to food security in the region [3]. The future projections of climate change are problematic for the region as the occurrence of natural calamities will increase, and the severity of drought and floods will also be harmful [4].
1.2 Climate Change
Climate Change is the process of changing weather patterns over a longer period of time or over decades. Human civilization is also a major contributor to changing weather patterns [4]. After the start of the great Industrial Revolution, climate change took place very rapidly as the industries were mainly based on coal [5]. Agriculture is the second lead anthropogenic activity that contributes to changing weather patterns along with the coal industry. After the start of the Industrial Revolution (i.e., 1750), carbon dioxide (CO2) emerged as the main contributor to global warming, followed by Methane (CH4). The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased by 44% from 1960 to 2015 [6].
The different data sets of global temperature specify the increasing temperature of the earthâs surface. The temperature of the earth has warmed by +0.8°C and +1.0°C since 1900. The temperature of the land surface also rose between +1.1°C and +1.3°C from 1950 as the land surface temperature is more sensitive to climate change as compared to sea surface temperature [6].
1.3 Climate Change Trends in South Asia
The region of South Asia is very varied geographically and economically, as well as from the climatic point of view. The region has desert of Thar, mountains, and snow of Himalayan, plains of Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and coastal of the Indian ocean. The geographical diversity of South Asia makes it naturally rich. The climatic conditions of the South Asian region are also diversifying due to the geographical conditions. Climate change contains rising temperatures, changing rainfall design, and a rise in the repetition of extreme weather events, i.e., drought and floods.
The historical temperature trends of South Asia show the rising temperature in the region in the last three decades. The annual mean temperature of South Asia has increased by 0.75°C in the last century [8].
The temperature tren...
