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‘Rising CO2 levels may double floods’
Why in news?
- The risk of extreme floods or storms could double every 13 years at the rate carbon-dioxide concentrations are building up in the atmosphere. This could spell a “catastrophe” for India, scientists have warned in a study.
More in news
- Report Title: “Impacts of Carbon Dioxide Emissions on Global Intense Hydro-meteorological Disasters”
- Published in: January issue of Climate, Disaster & Development Journal.
- Other Findings in the Report:
(1) Hydro-Meteorological Disasters: The number of intense “hydro-meteorological” disasters could increase by 5.4% annually for an “average” country facing annually nearly one “extreme disaster” (defined as one that causes 100 or more fatalities and/or affects 1,000 or more people).
(2) India faces 5-10 times as many extreme events as the average country.
(3) Straining the Ability to Cope: One more extreme event in India [such as the Kerala floods of 2018 that killed at least 400] would strain the ability of the country to cope; a doubling of the numbers in 13 years, using the above estimation, would be catastrophic, warned the study.
- Econometric Modelling: The authors of the study relied on econometric modelling which, they say, complements the traditional approach of climate modelling to explore the factors that have contributed to the increase in the frequency of flood and storm events.
Sources
The Hindu