Sea and upsetting food productivity and availability of drinking water
in many regions. There has been a five-fold increase in the most
intense cyclones in the Arabian Sea since 1995. Cyclones with a wind
speed of more than 100 km an hour are designated as most intense
cyclones, say scientists. A team of researchers who studied the
response of the Arabian Sea to global warming and associated regional
climate shift have concluded that the "signatures of this
climate-shift are also perceptible over the adjacent landmass of India
as progressively warmer winters, and decreased decadal monsoon
rainfall." The climatic changes also have "possible impact on
frequency and intensity of cyclones, summer monsoon rainfall, wheat
production, land vegetation cover and frequency of heat spells." In
the Arabian Sea, cyclones are formed mostly during May-June and
October-November periods. The cyclones during May and June are formed
within the Arabian Sea itself. However, during October and November,
cyclones are mostly formed over the Bay of Bengal and cross over to
the Arabian Sea. The States of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra endure
most of the cyclones, scientists said. The study was conducted by a
team of researchers comprising S. Prasanna Kumar, Raj P. Roshin and
Jayu Narvekar of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, P.K.
Dinesh Kumar of the Kochi Regional Centre of the Institute, and E.
Vivekanandan of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute,
Kochi. It was observed that there was rainfall deficiency of 71 mm
during 1995-2005 against the deficiency of 8 mm during 1985-1995. This
has direct links to climate changes. The rainfall deficiency will lead
to drinking water crisis and food productivity, said Dr.
Prasannakumar.
The Hindu, July 14
No comments:
Post a Comment