NEW DELHI — Modern civilization’s incessant extraction and burning of fossil fuels have placed humanity at a point in the course of climate crisis where its seemingly distant fate is in its own hands, and now is the time to act or leave extreme weather to continue devastating the world.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Aug. 9 signaled “code red” for humanity with the release of the first of a three-part Sixth Assessment Report since the think tank was found in 1988. It sets out how the impact of human activity on the climate is “unequivocal.”
“The global average surface temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial, a rate of warming unprecedented in the last 125,000 years,” states the report.
“The last five years (2016-2020) were the hottest years on record since 1850, with the first and last years tied as the hottest. The rate of global sea-level rise has nearly tripled compared with the 1901-1971 period.”
India welcomed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 1 contribution to the sixth assessment report, “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science”.
Several Indian scientists have participated in the preparation of this report.
Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the report titled “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis” is a clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarbonize their economies.
