As much as Rs two crore allocated by Rockefeller Foundation for setting up an early warning system to forecast floods and other rain-related problems has been lying unutilized, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of charity commissioner office. The foundation that has been working with Surat city through Asian Cities Climate Change Resilient Network (ACCCRN) on the issue of climate change and the money is lying with TARU, the local felicitator.

2 Cr Fund for Early Warning System Delayed 

Climate change may be the main culprit behind the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization around 4,000 years ago, says a new study, which also claims to have resolved the long-standing debate over the source and fate of the Saraswati, a sacred river in Hindu mythology. 

Common men on the streets could be seen discussing two issues prominently all over the state – the rising temperature and poor power situation – but the issues are no longer only a matter of concern for the lay man as experts have become concerned over the situation. The extreme heat wave which is considered usual phenomena of the summer months has been identified with some unusual features these time, which may lead to long-term climatic changes not just in the state but throughout the east and central India. 

Climate change concerns experts

“The Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers have experienced dramatic changes in flow due to the construction of dams, anthropogenic contamination and other activities, National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) senior scientist Dr S. Masood Ahmad said here on Sunday. “The Godavari would require significant intervention to protect its ecosystems and the people, who are mainly dependent on its river basins,” he added. (About 135 million people inhabit the river basins of the Godavari and Krishna.

Climate change to affect rivers 

Global warming and climate change have become part of our daily parlance with them affecting key aspects of our lives. But questions on how to combat and minimise the adverse effects of climate change are not easy to come by. In a country like ours, diverse geographical areas have localised issues that need particular attention. For instance, questions on how to manage the 300 tons of solid waste that Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh generates daily are not readily available to us. But Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) supported by Rockefeller Foundation is attempting to answer them.

Global warming and climate change have gone beyond being just catchphrases in large parts of India. But the people, especially in the interiors, are striking back – adapting, altering and improvising to beat back the assault. 

By the end of this week, the South West monsoon would have hit Indian shores. During a period of economic crisis, it would be one of the few welcome developments, although few people would look at it that way. The arrival of the South West monsoon is an event that is taken for granted, as surely as the arrival of summer or winter every year. However, climatologists are now beginning to question this certitude. The South Indian monsoon has switched off completely in the past, sometimes for as much as ten seasons. Are we prepared for a scenario when the monsoon fails totally for ten years?

More than 180 countries agreed on an agenda for work on a new climate treaty by 2015 at United Nations climate talks on Friday, breaking a deadlock over procedure, but mistrust remains that could threaten progress for the rest of the year. “(The workplan) was not an easy issue to agree (on),” U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres told reporters after the negotiations held at Bonn in Germany.

The latest round of international climate change talks finished on Friday in discord and disappointment, with some participants concerned that important progress made last year was being unpicked. At the talks, countries were supposed to set out a workplan on negotiations that should result in a new global climate treaty, to be drafted by the end of 2015 and to come into force in 2020. But participants told the Guardian they were downbeat, disappointed and frustrated that the decision to work on a new treaty – reached after marathon late-running talks last December in Durban – was being questioned.

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to rise despite best efforts to date to curtail them. CO2 emissions reached a record-high 31.6 gigatonnes (Gt) in 2011, according to preliminary estimates from the International Energy Agency, a 1 Gt, 3.2% year-over-year increase.