Climate Change: India’s water security at great risk, says CSE

Ground Report | New Delhi: India climate change; The impacts of climate change have to do with variable and extreme heat and rainfall, and both at the same time have a direct correlation with the water cycle, the expert pointed out.

Therefore, the mitigation of the phenomenon must be related to water and its management, explained Narain. The CSE experts point out that the increase in heat has serious consequences for the security of water in the country and work must be done not only on its storage in millions of structures but also on the reduction of losses due to evaporation.

“I am saying this because we all know that climate change impacts are about heat -- increased and scorching temperatures -- and about variable and extreme rain. Both have a direct correlation with the water cycle. Therefore, climate change mitigation has to be about water and its management,” Narain elaborates said in a statement.

 In India, where most food is still grown in rainfed (rain-fed) regions, this will intensify land degradation and dust bowl formation. This means that water management must go hand in hand with vegetation planning to improve the ability of soils to retain water, even in times of intense and prolonged heat.

Likewise, the heat will increase the use of water, from consumption and irrigation to fighting fires in forests or buildings. The demand for the liquid will increase with climate change, which makes it more imperative not to waste it. Also, climate change manifests itself in terms of increased extreme rainfall events, and the cycle of floods followed by droughts will be even more intense.

India already has fewer rainy days per year and only has an average of 100 hours of rainfall per year, and now the days of downpours will be further reduced, but those of extreme rain will increase. (India climate change)

This has an impact on the country's water management plans and therefore more thought has to be given to flood management, not only to dam rivers but also to optimize floodwaters, so as to store it in underground aquifers and surface, such as wells and ponds.

It also means planning rainwater harvesting differently, since hydraulic structures are currently designed for normal rainfall. The scholars conclude that in this time of climate crisis, it is necessary to plan to capture every last drop, not only of rain but also of water from floods.

The organization warned that the heat will increase water use, from drinking and irrigation to fighting fires in forests or buildings. "We have already seen devastating wildfires in many parts of the world, and in the forests of India. This will only increase as temperatures rise. The demand for water will increase with climate change, which makes it even more imperative that let's not waste, whether it's water or wastewater," he said.

CSE also said that climate change is already manifesting itself in terms of the increasing number of extreme rainfall events.

"This means we can expect it to rain like a flood, which makes the cycle of floods followed by droughts even more intense. India already has fewer rainy days in a year: it is said to rain for only 100 hours on average in a year. Now the number of rainy days will decrease even more, but the days of extreme rain will increase," he said.

"We needed to be obsessive about water and its management yesterday because water is the foundation of health and wealth. But now we need to be more than obsessive. We need to be purposeful and deliberate. On this World Water Day in the age of climate instead, we need to know that the water agenda is the real deciding factor of our future," said Narain. (India climate change)

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