Subject: Climate Change

Why in the News?

A new study reveals that plant cover on the Antarctic Peninsula, a mountainous region extending towards South America, has increased more than tenfold in recent decades due to rising temperatures.

What has the study found?

• Vegetation in the Antarctic Peninsula increased 14-fold between 1986 and 2021, expanding from less than 1 sq km to nearly 12 sq km.
• Mosses and lichens dominate this vegetation, with greening accelerating by 30% between 2016 and 2021.
• The changes are linked to anthropogenic climate change and observed through satellite data.

How quickly is Antarctica warming?

• Antarctica is warming twice as fast as the global average, at 0.22-0.32°C per decade (compared to 0.14-0.18°C globally).
• The Antarctic Peninsula is warming five times faster than the global average and is now almost 3°C warmer than in 1950.
• Record-breaking heatwaves have occurred, with temperatures rising up to 28°C above normal in July 2023 and 39°C above normal in March 2022.

Why should we worry about increased vegetation in Antarctica?

• Invasive Species: Warming temperatures and increased vegetation disrupt the ecological balance, allowing non-native species to outcompete native flora like mosses and lichens, leading to reduced biodiversity and altered habitats.
• Albedo Effect: Increased plant cover lowers the albedo effect, resulting in greater solar energy absorption and further warming, creating a feedback loop that promotes additional vegetation growth.
• Soil Formation: Plant life accelerates soil development by adding organic matter, enhancing nutrient cycling, and creating a more hospitable environment for non-native species, thereby increasing the risk of invasives.
• Ice Loss and Sea-Level Rise: Higher temperatures from warming and the albedo effect lead to increased ice melt, contributing to global sea-level rise, which threatens coastal ecosystems and human settlements with flooding and erosion.

Way forward: 

• Strengthen climate action: Accelerate global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, focusing on renewable energy and sustainable practices to mitigate further warming in Antarctica.
• Monitor ecosystems: Establish stricter biosecurity measures and enhanced monitoring to prevent invasive species from spreading and disrupting Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem.
• Promote global cooperation: Increase international collaboration on Antarctic research, focusing on climate change impacts, ecosystem protection, and adaptation strategies to minimize global sea-level rise and biodiversity loss.

Mains PYQ:

Q Major cities of India are becoming vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss. (UPSC IAS/2016)

Why in the News?

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)‘s October 2024 report revealed that 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in 33 years, intensifying stress on water supplies globally.

What factors contributed to 2023 being the driest year for global rivers?

• Record High Temperatures: 2023 was marked as the hottest year on record, which significantly contributed to prolonged drought conditions and reduced river flows across many regions globally.
• Climate Change Impact: Rising temperatures have led to a more erratic hydrological cycle, resulting in both extreme droughts and flooding. This unpredictability has exacerbated water shortages in many areas.
• Transition from La Niña to El Niño: The climatic shift from La Niña to El Niño conditions in mid-2023 played a crucial role in altering weather patterns, leading to widespread dry conditions in many regions while simultaneously causing flooding in others.
• Glacier Melting: The report indicated that glaciers experienced their largest mass loss in 50 years, which threatens long-term water security for millions who rely on glacial meltwater for their water supply.

How has climate change impacted global water resources and glacier conditions?

• Increased Water Scarcity: The report highlighted that approximately 3.6 billion people currently lack reliable access to water for at least one month each year, a number expected to rise to over 5 billion by 2050 due to worsening water scarcity.
• Glacier Dependency: Many regions depend on glacial meltwater for their river systems. As glaciers continue to shrink, future water availability is jeopardized, particularly in areas like Europe and North America.
• Erratic Water Supply: The hydrological cycle’s acceleration leads to unpredictable rainfall patterns, causing both droughts and floods that disrupt agricultural and industrial water supplies.

What are the implications for global water access and management?

• Increased Demand vs. Supply Shortages: With growing populations and rising demand for water resources, the current trends indicate a critical imbalance between supply and demand, leading to heightened competition for available water resources.
• Need for Improved Monitoring: The WMO emphasizes the necessity for better data collection and sharing regarding water resources. This is crucial for effective management strategies that can adapt to changing conditions.
• Urgent Action Required: There is an urgent need for global cooperation and action to address these challenges. Enhanced monitoring systems and international collaboration are essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources.

Way forward: 

• Strengthen Water Resource Management and Adaptation Strategies: Governments should implement integrated water resource management (IWRM) plans to address both water scarcity and flooding risks.
• Enhance Global Cooperation and Data-Driven Decision Making: Countries must prioritize data-sharing, improve monitoring of water resources, and foster cross-border collaborations to manage shared water systems effectively.

Why in the News?

The delayed onset of La Niña and the late retreat of the monsoon have diminished hopes that Delhi’s residents might enjoy improved air quality this winter compared to previous years.

How has the triple-dip La Niña phenomenon influenced air quality in North India?

• No dispersion of pollutants: The delayed onset of La Niña has led to stagnant air and calm winds, preventing the dispersion of pollutants. In previous winters, La Niña helped improve air quality with stronger winds and atmospheric circulation.
• Trapped air pollutants: The slower monsoon retreat resulted in extended periods of high humidity, reduced atmospheric mixing, and trapped pollutants near the surface, contributing to deteriorated air quality.

What meteorological factors contributed to the observed anomalies in air quality?

• Monsoon Retreat and Humidity: The delayed retreat of the monsoon contributes to prolonged periods of high humidity and calm winds. These conditions reduce atmospheric mixing, trapping pollutants near the surface and leading to elevated levels of PM2.5 and PM10.
• Stagnant Winds: The absence of La Niña conditions results in stagnant surface winds, which hinder the dispersion of pollutants. This stagnation is particularly problematic given the regional emissions from stubble burning and other sources.
• Stubble Burning: With prevailing north-north-westerly winds, stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana could significantly worsen Delhi’s air quality if it occurs at even half the intensity seen in previous years.

What implications does this have for future climate and air quality management strategies?

• Need for Broader Focus: There is a growing recognition that air quality management must shift from a localized emission-centric approach to one that considers larger meteorological patterns and regional airsheds.
• Policy Recommendations: Policymakers should prioritize mitigating PM2.5 emissions over PM10, as PM2.5 poses greater health risks.
• Integration of Climate Factors: Future air quality strategies should integrate climate change considerations, recognizing that local emissions are only part of the equation.

Way forward:

• Adopt Regional Airshed Management: Shift from a localized approach to a broader airshed strategy, accounting for meteorological patterns and regional pollution sources to improve air quality management.
• Prioritize PM2.5 Mitigation and Climate Integration: Focus on reducing PM2.5 emissions, which pose higher health risks, and incorporate climate change factors into long-term air quality policies for comprehensive solutions.

Why in the News?

Although voters voiced concerns about the climate crisis, it was overlooked during the Lok Sabha election campaign.

Why is addressing the climate crisis an urgent priority for policymakers and the global community?

• The Paris Agreement includes a commitment for developed countries to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries. This target was extended until 2025, with new financial goals.
  • The next five years are crucial for India’s climate action to meet its ambitious 2030 targets, as the Roadmap for 2025 Climate Change Funds are about to end.
• India’s heavy dependence on coal, with clean energy contributing only 22% of the electricity mix, underscores the need for an urgent transition.
• Immediate attention is required to manage heat stress, improve air quality, handle waste, and enhance energy efficiency.

What specific actions or policies can be implemented?

• Enhanced Carbon Markets: Launching the ‘India Carbon Market’ in 2026 aims to help achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and could become the world’s largest emissions trading system by 2030.
• Mitigating Pollutants: Focus on reducing CO2 and short-lived superpollutants like methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons, which have significant short-term warming effects.
  • Integrating specific treaties into the Paris Agreement, similar to the Montreal Protocol, with a new treaty targeting methane reductions by 2030 would be helpful.
• Financial Incentives: Developing financial mechanisms and nuanced carbon trading approaches to encourage faster climate action and effective pollutant management.

What challenges or barriers exist in the implementation of a comprehensive climate crisis agenda?

• Governance and Coordination: Need for a Constitutional nodal authority to ensure coordinated climate action across various government levels and stakeholders.
• Economic and Social Factors: Rising temperatures and associated crises like unemployment and high living costs contribute to public disengagement from climate issues.
• Political and Voter Engagement: The 2024 Lok Sabha election’s lack of focus on climate issues highlights the challenge of integrating climate action into mainstream political agendas and addressing voter concerns.

Way forward: 

• Create a Constitutional Nodal Authority: Form a central body with the authority to oversee, coordinate, and enforce climate policies across various government levels, ensuring effective and unified action.
• Prioritize Climate Issues in Political Platforms: Make climate action a central theme in political campaigns and public discussions to boost awareness, engagement, and support for climate policies and initiatives.

Mains PYQ:

Q ‘Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? (UPSC IAS/2017)

Why in the News?

The retreat of glaciers is one of the most visible indicators of climate change, but it also creates new ecosystems that could play a role in mitigating its effects, according to a global study titled ‘The Development of Terrestrial Ecosystems Emerging After Glacier Retreat’ published in “Nature”.

How are Glaciers Formed?

• Glaciers form when snowfall accumulates over time in a particular area where temperatures are consistently cold enough for snow to remain year-round.
• Over the years, the weight of accumulating snow compresses the lower layers, turning them into firn (a dense snowpack). Further compression transforms firn into ice.
• Once thick enough, glaciers begin to move under the force of gravity, flowing slowly like rivers of ice. The glacier’s movement is driven by the internal deformation of the ice and sliding at its base, leading to the formation of crevasses and other glacial features.

Key Highlights of the Recent Study

The recent study titled “The Development of Terrestrial Ecosystems Emerging After Glacier Retreat,” published in Nature, presents several significant findings:

• Ecosystem Development: The study indicates that while glacier retreat is a clear sign of climate change, it also leads to the emergence of new ecosystems that can mitigate climate change effects because of it can enhance carbon capture and storage through biogeochemical processes.
• Microbial Colonization: Following glacier retreat, microorganisms such as bacteria and algae are the first to colonize the barren landscapes, which helps in soil formation.
  • Within a decade, hardy plants like lichens and grasses establish themselves, further enriching the soil and enabling more complex life forms to thrive.
• Management Importance:  The study emphasizes that with appropriate strategies to manage it because, these areas can quickly develop, providing habitats for species threatened by climate change and contributing to biodiversity conservation.
• Water Regulation: In regions like the Himalayas, post-glacial ecosystems are vital for regulating water availability, impacting rivers that support millions of people.
• Potential for Discoveries: The biodiversity in these areas may lead to new agricultural and medicinal discoveries, highlighting the ecological benefits of protecting and studying these ecosystems

Way forward: 

• Ecosystem Management: Implement strategies for managing emerging post-glacial ecosystems to enhance their carbon capture potential and biodiversity conservation, supporting climate change mitigation efforts.
• Research and Conservation: Prioritize research on these ecosystems, particularly in regions like the Himalayas, to safeguard water resources and explore potential agricultural and medicinal discoveries, benefiting both the environment and local economies.

Mains PYQ:

Q Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent. (UPSC IAS/2014)

Why in the News?

A new calculation suggests that climate models might be overestimating how long plants keep carbon before releasing it as per the recent study published in Science by an international research team.

Study from the Relics of the Cold War:

• The nuclear bomb tests conducted during the Cold War inadvertently provided scientists with valuable data for climate research.
  • The tests released significant amounts of radiocarbon into the atmosphere, allowing researchers to study its movement and absorption by vegetation.
• The presence of radiocarbon in the atmosphere serves as a marker for understanding carbon dynamics.
  • The study analyzed the radiocarbon levels before and after the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, which halted atmospheric nuclear testing, providing insights into how carbon is cycled between the atmosphere and vegetation.
• The study highlights that many climate models have not incorporated radiocarbon data, which could lead to inaccuracies in predicting carbon cycling and its impact on climate change.
  • Only one model, the Community Earth System Model 2, has accounted for radiocarbon, but it predicted lower absorption levels than the study found.

How the Whole System is Cycling Faster?

• Accelerated Carbon Exchange: The researchers concluded that the entire carbon cycle is operating faster than previously understood.
  • This means that while plants absorb more CO2, they also release it back into the atmosphere more quickly, leading to a more dynamic and less stable carbon storage system.
• Implications for Climate Mitigation: The findings suggest that strategies relying on plant carbon sequestration to offset fossil fuel emissions may need to be reevaluated.
  • If plants are releasing carbon sooner than expected, the potential for mitigating climate change through natural carbon sinks could be less effective than previously thought.

Way forward: 

• Incorporate Radiocarbon Data: Integrate radiocarbon data into existing and future climate models to more accurately predict carbon cycling and the role of vegetation in carbon sequestration. This will lead to more reliable forecasts of climate change impacts and inform better policy decisions.
• Develop Dynamic Carbon Cycle Models: Improve models to account for the faster carbon cycling observed, ensuring they reflect the actual pace at which carbon is absorbed and released by plants. This will help in refining strategies for climate mitigation.