BANGALORE: Climate change has altered rainfall pattern in the state leading to apprehensions about cropping pattern and food security.
Professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences M B Raje Gowda on Wednesday said this while speaking at the national conference on Climate Change and its Impact on Natural Resources.
The conference is being organised by Bangalore University.
“The average rainfall in the city 30 years ago was 1,204 mm but now it has decreased by 60 mm,” he said.
The rainfall has decreased in hilly and coastal regions of the state and has increased in the plains. “In places like Chikmagalur, people have started growing Ragi due to scanty rainfall,” he said.
Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhudeva said climate change was one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats before the planet.
“It has led to increase in temperature, changing landscapes, gradual extinction of wildlife, rising water-level in sea, increased risk of drought, fire and floods, stronger storms and increased storm damage, more heat related illness and disease and economic losses,” he said.
Explaining the effect, Prabhudeva said the ten hottest years on record have occurred since 1990 and it includes the warmest year in 2005.
“This has led to rising sea level threatening to inundate low-lying areas and dense coastal population,” he said. “A 36-inch increase in sea level will swamp every city - from Miami to Boston - in the east coast of America. Around 100 million poor people, who have virtually contributed nothing to the present crisis, will be either affected or displaced.”
Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Bangalore University, K Puttaraju said the carbon emmissions were the major cause of pollution.
“Most of the power generation units still rely on coal leading to pollution. We are trying to explore the possibility of generating eco-friendly power by tapping the atmospheric and hydrospheric pressure,” he said.
Convenor of the organising committee Dr Nandini said the Bangalore University weather monitoring station has discovered a new organism that come with the hail stones at the outset of the monsoon and cause skin diseases.