Ahmedabad: "Convenient Action" on climate change doesn't seem to be working in Gujarat, as it has been ranked 2nd among Indian states facing severe environmental threats. As many as 14 districts of the state have been included in the "very high" category under vulnerability indices relating to climate change.
The bleak reality has been revealed in findings of various studies conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), according to which only Rajasthan is ahead of Gujarat. Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka share space with Gujarat with 14 very highly vulnerable districts. Gujarat has six districts under the highly vulnerable category.
Studies indicate more erratic and intense monsoons, unseasonal rains and hailstorms, increasing risk of droughts and floods, and rise in temperatures. The increasing frequency of warm days in certain pockets will hit small-scale agricultural systems. The impact of climate change is expected to be felt in the economic viability and production of livestock systems because of poor availability of quality feed, decreased reproductive performance, and decline in milk production.
The indices are fixed on the basis of frequent changes in climatic patterns. Experts believe that agriculture also contributes to climate change as it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. J K Vyas, a city-based environmentalist, said deforestation was one of the reasons for climate change in Gujarat. "In agriculture, power plants set up for irrigation burn fuel," Vyas said. However, Dr Dinesh Mishra, the principal chief conservator of forests of the state, said that deforestation cannot be a factor as the forest cover of Gujarat has increased over the past few years.
