HYDERABAD: Climate change does not bode well for the world, and the same applies to Telangana.
Researchers from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal conducted a study on how climate would change in the State under two scenarios, with regards to changes in rainfall and temperatures, between 2020 and 2050.
Their findings warn of a significant rise in maximum temperatures and the threat of declining water resources.
The researchers, SLS Vani Jayanthi and Venkata Reddy Keesara, of the civil engineering department, studied probable changes in annual rainfall, and maximum and minimum temperatures in Telangana under two future scenarios — RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 — where ‘RCP’ stands for Representative Concentration Pathway.
The RCP8.5 scenario refers to a rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the 21st century, and the RCP4.5 scenario refers to one in which GHG emissions will peak around 2040 and decline.
Water shortage ahead
The finding by the NIT researchers makes it clear as to why the world needs to reduce GHG emissions. It points out that under the RCP8.5 scenario, there would be a significant rise in maximum as well as minimum temperatures in the State, along with a decline in rainfall. This means that while Telangana gets hotter, increasing evaporation losses at water bodies, there would not be enough rains to make up for the extra water loss.
Hottest places will get hotter
In the second scenario, while not much change in rainfall is expected, the maximum temperatures will rise significantly, mainly in the northern and central zones of Telangana. This is a serious cause of concern because districts in these zones already record some of the highest temperatures in the country. This year, these districts suffered prolonged heatwaves, with the maximum temperature reaching close to 48 degree Celsius.
Two scenarios analysed
The researchers analysed two of the four scenarios developed by the IPCC, one in which greenhouse gas emissions rise throughout the 21st Century, and the other in which they peak around 2040