'Focus needed on developing decade-long climate forecast’

The Times of India , Monday, June 24, 2013
Correspondent : TNN
VISAKHAPATNAM: "India needs to develop the capability for a decade-long climate forecast. It should also come up with crop simulation and land sustainability models," said Shailesh Nayak, secretary, Union ministry of earth sciences.

He was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural of the 'International conference on climate change: present concerns', organised by the department of geography, Andhra University, here on Sunday.

"Undoubtedly, the climate has changed with increase in temperature particularly in the past one decade. The increase in the water level in the Indian Ocean was on a par with other oceans till a few years ago. But from 2004, the rate of sea rise has doubled," he noted. "Sudden decrease in rainfall in some areas or abnormal increase in other places is leading to climate anomalies. We need to study the phenomenon for a better understanding of global warming."

He said the climate change would have a major impact on society, people's health and socio-economic activities and also environment. Organisms will find it hard to adapt themselves to such sudden changes. Man-made activities including agriculture, use of chemical fertilisers and urbanization have affected the eco-system. "To understand all these and predict climate change, we need to develop decadal level climate forecast and crop and land sustainability models to project the kind of crops that we need to grow in future," Nayak pointed out.

Andhra University VC Prof GSN Raju said the conference was relevant as it would give an insight into the factors that lead to abnormalities in the earth's climatic system.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Focus-needed-on-developing-decade-long-climate-forecast/articleshow/20737029.cms
 


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