GUWAHATI:
Minister for science, technology, and climate change Keshab Mahanta, on September 16, said that as per the latest report of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Assam has been ranked the fifth vulnerable state for climate change in India.
“Assam is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographical proximity to the delta region and poor socio-economic conditions. The vulnerability is reflected in the exposure sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the local population to climate-induced extreme events such as floods,” Mahanta said replying to a starred question from BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia on the last day of the autumn session of Assam Legislative Assembly.
The state’s 15 districts have been ranked among the top 25 districts of the country for climate change vulnerability, according to the report of Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India using a common framework.
While, Karimganj is the top vulnerable district, Goalpara has been ranked 2nd, Dhubri 3rd, Darrang 4th, Sonitpur 6th, Golaghat 9th, Cachar 10th, Barpeta 11th, Kokrajhar 15th, Tinsukia 18th, Baksa 19th, Morigaon 21st, Dibrugarh 23rd, Sivasagar 24th and Hailakandi 25th vulnerable by the DST.
“Assam has the highest overall vulnerability in the country (CEEW 2021). Rainfall intensity is changing. Golaghat district through which the Doyang River flows to join the Brahmaputra has not witnessed normal monsoon in the last 30 years,” Mahanta said.
According to the Assam State Action Plan for Climate change (ASAPCC), the annual mean temperature in the state has increased by 0.59 degrees Celsius over the last 60 years (1951-2010), Mahanta said and added that the climate projections in the state predict that extreme rainfall has increased by 38 per cent.
There has been an increasing trend in temperature and decreasing trend in the rainfall pattern due to climate change in Assam, the minister said.
“Climate change projection for Assam indicates that mean average temperature is likely to rise by 1.72 C to 2.2 C by mid-century concerning 1971-2000. There is likely to be an increase in extreme rainfall events by 5% to 38%. All across the state, except in the southern districts, drought weeks are going to rise as well, by more than 75% per cent concerning the baseline (1971-2000). As regards floods, projections increase by more than 25 per cent,” the minister further said.
“It is therefore essential that adaption plans to combat the impacts of climate change are factored in the development process now to avoid the economic burden of adaption in the long run, and gain from new opportunities that will be thrown up along the way,” he said.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), in 2021 Assam recorded 21 per cent less rainfall than average between June 1 and July 28. This meant the state received 625.3 mm of rainfall against the average rainfall of 792.3 mm.
“There is also an exponential increase in the frequency of flood events since 2010, In 2021, more than 1.4 million people were displaced by the flooding along the Brahmaputra in 18 of 34 districts of the state,” he added.