The Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins will experience large scale uncertainty in rainfall and frequent floods by 2100 due to the effects of climate change, according to a report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC).
Besides, the average global temperature will increase between 3.5°C and 6°C by the end of the century, IPCC said in its ‘Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’ (SROCC) released on Wednesday.
IPCC is an organisation of 195 UN nations. It took 3 years to compile the report by analysing nearly 7,000 scientific papers with inputs from 104 authors and editors across 36 countries.
The following are the highlights of the report relevant to the Indian sub-continent:
- The most affected regions will be Hindu Kush Himalayan region (HKH) which includes a population of 1.9 billion in 10 major river basins, and Tien Shan, Kun Lun, Pamir, Karakoram, Himalayas, and Hengduan and the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau areas.
- The report predicts large scale uncertainty of rain and frequent floods in Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins.
- Average temperatures are likely to increase between 3.5°C and 6°C by 2100, and this will result in loss in glacier volume from 36 to 64 per cent.
- Many glaciers will disappear “entirely” and around 80 per cent glaciers will reduce by 2100.
- Sea-levels have already risen by 16 centimeters due to human induced climate change. This can rise 10 times faster by the end of this century or 15 mm every year by then, the report warned.
- Agriculture, hydro electricity and water availability will be affected in northern plains.
- Total mass of sea animals could reduce by 15 per cent. The maximum catch potential of fisheries could decrease by up to 24 per cent by 2100, if emissions are not checked.
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