of monsoon rainfall over India (see Chaps. 1 and 3). An
increase in rainfall together with measures for water harvesting would aid the restoration of groundwater levels.
Restoration of groundwater levels would not only improve
water security and resilience to droughts but also help check
land subsidence, consequently reducing the impacts of
sea-level rise and storm surge.
Ambitious afforestation efforts likewise offer myriad
benefits. Aside from mitigating climate change through
carbon sequestration, trees also enhance resilience to flash
floods and landslides by improving soil retention, improve
resilience to droughts by increasing percolation of surface
water into the soil, improve resilience of coastal infrastructure and habitation by reducing coastline erosion due to
storm surges and sea-level rise, reduce vulnerability to
extreme heat by reducing ambient temperatures, and support
native wildlife and biodiversity. In short, forests and urban
green spaces will deliver substantial economic benefits to the
country by mitigating a wide range of the expected impacts
of climate change in India and is the safest, most reliable
means of realizing several of India’s sustainable development goals.
12.3 Summary
In conclusion, changes in climate need to be considered as a
part of a complex system. The merits and trade-offs of different policy measures need to be assessed so as to extend
well beyond climate change mitigation and adaptation. This
warrants a continued and sustained push for research,
cooperative inter-disciplinary work and a close coordination
between researchers and policy-makers to convert knowledge into action.
This report has, using observations as well as model
studies, assessed the extent and rate of climate change in
India and how it may evolve in future. The impacts of these
changes on infrastructure, environmental and public health
can hamper efforts towards attaining India’s developmental
goals and impede the country’s economic growth.
Addressing these challenges will require developing periodically updated regional-scale assessments of climate
change and its impacts, evaluating the efficacy of existing
policies, learning from sustainable practices across India and
around the world, and responding dynamically in line with
scientific advancements.
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License
(http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if
changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in
the chapter’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in
a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's
Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by
statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to
obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
226
C. Dhara et al.
increase in rainfall together with measures for water harvesting would aid the restoration of groundwater levels.
Restoration of groundwater levels would not only improve
water security and resilience to droughts but also help check
land subsidence, consequently reducing the impacts of
sea-level rise and storm surge.
Ambitious afforestation efforts likewise offer myriad
benefits. Aside from mitigating climate change through
carbon sequestration, trees also enhance resilience to flash
floods and landslides by improving soil retention, improve
resilience to droughts by increasing percolation of surface
water into the soil, improve resilience of coastal infrastructure and habitation by reducing coastline erosion due to
storm surges and sea-level rise, reduce vulnerability to
extreme heat by reducing ambient temperatures, and support
native wildlife and biodiversity. In short, forests and urban
green spaces will deliver substantial economic benefits to the
country by mitigating a wide range of the expected impacts
of climate change in India and is the safest, most reliable
means of realizing several of India’s sustainable development goals.
12.3 Summary
In conclusion, changes in climate need to be considered as a
part of a complex system. The merits and trade-offs of different policy measures need to be assessed so as to extend
well beyond climate change mitigation and adaptation. This
warrants a continued and sustained push for research,
cooperative inter-disciplinary work and a close coordination
between researchers and policy-makers to convert knowledge into action.
This report has, using observations as well as model
studies, assessed the extent and rate of climate change in
India and how it may evolve in future. The impacts of these
changes on infrastructure, environmental and public health
can hamper efforts towards attaining India’s developmental
goals and impede the country’s economic growth.
Addressing these challenges will require developing periodically updated regional-scale assessments of climate
change and its impacts, evaluating the efficacy of existing
policies, learning from sustainable practices across India and
around the world, and responding dynamically in line with
scientific advancements.
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License
(http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if
changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in
the chapter’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in
a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's
Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by
statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to
obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
226
C. Dhara et al.