India’s inputs to be featured in IPCC report

New super computer to improve modelling capability

A couple building a thatch hut at Satyanarayanpur village in the Sundarbans. Thousands were rendered homeless as seas rise twice as fast as the global average and water eats away at the islands. The ecologically sensitive and overpopulated Sundarbans is ground zero for climate change. Warmer temperatures, and rising seas may lead to them becoming climate refugees. AP Bikas Das

The next report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) due in 2018 will carry India’s inputs on climate change assessment generated by an indigenous modelling system, M.Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, has said.

Delivering the foundation day lecture at the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) here on Friday, Dr. Rajeevan said India’s participation in the climate change assessment by the IPCC represented a breakthrough for the country.

“India’s inputs were not given in the last five IPCC reports because so far we were relying on climate change models developed by other countries. Now we have our own model. ” The IPCC reports highlight the causes and impact of global warming and climate change on regions across the world.

Dr. Rajeevan said the statistical and high performance computing systems employed by India had consistently improved weather prediction and climate projection capabilities.

The country’s climate change modelling was set to improve further with the acquisition of a 10 Peta Flop super computer by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, in June this year.

“IITM is upgrading from the 1.2 Peta Flop machine which no longer matches our requirements. The tender for the new computer will be floated next week. It will be the most powerful supercomputer in the country.”

Dr. Rajeevan said climate projections about increase in temperature and the variabilities in the monsoon necessitated dramatic changes in farming strategies and water management in India.

IPCC models suggested an increase in extreme temperatures, decrease in the number of rainy days, and increase in the intensity of rainfall during the monsoon. This, he said, would have serious implications for agriculture, requiring a shift to short duration varieties and steps to harvest and store rainwater.