Nagaland to see increase in annual average temp, flood

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, May 18: According to research conducted by a professor of the Indian Institute of Science, Nagaland has been experiencing climate irregularities in past few decades with most districts experiencing increased rainfall.
Temperature records also show steady warming trends in both maximum and minimum temperature. This record was presented by Ango Konyak, assistant conservator of forest of the Forest establishment at Kohima.
The assistant conservator of forest was addressing a seminar on Climate Change on Sat. May 18 in Dimapur. He spoke on the topic “Government response to the threat of Climate Change and involvement of the community.”

The seminar was organised by the Dimapur Government College Alumni Association in collaboration with the dept. of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

Konyak highlighted to the participants the Nagaland State Action Plan on Climate Change (Nagaland SAPCC) where 25 government department are involved in the preparation of said action plan, and to identify key factors of vulnerability from Climate Change.

These factor include integrated agriculture, water resources, forest and biodiversity, urban habitat and transport, health, energy and cross cutting issues (livelihood and research and knowledge management).

The officer mentioned that the first meeting of the group’s steering committee was held on Nov. 2 2015 and the second meeting on Nov. 27 2017 which approved an agriculture sector proposal for funding.

Referring to the research by Prof. Rabindranath, Konyak said that the projection for mid-century (2020-2050) shows that there will be an increase in annual average temperature between 1.6 and 1.8 degree Celsius, increase in annual total rainfall by 15 to 20%.

An increase in extreme rainfall events (100mm/day) was also projected, which will have devastating effect.
Climate Change, he pointed out, concerns heavier monsoon, increase in extreme precipitation events, increase in annual average temperature and flood discharge.

Further, Konyak informed that a review of the Nagaland SAPCC was on. There have been participation and inputs from various government departments, assisted by the German development agency GIZ. A draft of the review is in its final stage, he said.

Also addressing climate-related projects and activities in Nagaland, Konyak said that the activities of the department of Agriculture include the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, National Innovations in Climate Resilient

Agriculture; department of Land Resources, which includes the Springshed development project; and the department of Science and Technology, which includes a national mission on sustainable Himalayan ecosystem, and the national mission on strategic knowledge for Climate Change.

Freelancer trainer for leadership and community development at Shillong Butesen Ozüküm addressed the event on the topic “Consequences of Climate Change and counter-measures.” The trainer focused on the global concern of Climate Change.

Ozüküm educated the participants on the concept of intergovernmental panel on Climate Change, which is a United Nations body for assessing the science related to Climate Change.

According to the IPCC, he said, human influence on the climate system was clear. Recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history and the ever increasing population is to be blame, he said.

Changes in the climate are already happening. Each of the past three decades has been warmer than the previous and warmer than any decade since record keeping began.

Heat waves will occur more often and last even longer while extreme precipitation, or rainfall, will become more intense and frequent in many regions, Ozüküm said referring to the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change.

Climate change will make food systems more volatile, exacerbate health problems, displace people, weaken countries, infrastructure and even fuel conflict, he said. The impact on agriculture will be such that wheat production will drop by 4-5 million ton with the rise in temperature of even one degree Celsius, he reminded.

According to a recent report of the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change it is projected that Climate Change will lead to severe water storage and trigger water-borne diseases.

Even without Climate Change, Ozüküm said, 15% of India’s groundwater resources are being overexploited.