‘Saving Sunderbans must to safeguard city from adverse effects of climate change’
Kolkata: Climate experts have emphasised the criticality of saving the Sunderban Delta to safeguard Kolkata from the adverse effects of climate change with the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) report revealing that the metropolis is among the top ten cities worldwide that face the most dangerous multi-hazard risks and are most vulnerable to disaster-related mortality.
At the maiden International Delta Summit held in Kolkata recently, climate scientist Anjal Prakash, lead author of the IPCC reports said that Sunderban Delta is a lifeline for Kolkata, and its preservation is crucial to mitigating the city’s vulnerability to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, and subsidence. “There is strong evidence that the frequency and severity of cyclones will be increasing many folds and this will be the new normal. Therefore the need is to act swiftly on inclusive decision-making with more participation of local people who are affected, increasing their social safety net to help mitigate migration and enable the building local economy, and also work on the effectiveness of the insurance by identifying and addressing the social vulnerability issues,” Prakash said.
Principal Secretary, department of Disaster Management, Dushwant Nariyala said that the state government is actively involved in the disaster mitigation efforts and has constructed 210 multi-purpose flood and cyclone shelters in East Midnapore and South 24-Parganas, with another 100 schools being upgraded as cyclone-flood shelters.
Saleemul Haq, director, ICCCAD (International Centre for Climate Change and Development) called for
formation of a collaborative group on research and action, with more academic collaboration on the issue of loss and damage in climate change adaptation and collaboration on developing more locally led community adaptation programmes between India and Bangladesh.
Dr Balamurugan, Chief Technical Officer of East Kolkata Wetland Management Authority who delivered a memorial lecture on Dr Dhrubajyoti Ghosh (Wetland Man of India) stressed on protecting the EKW for saving Kolkata from climate impacts like heat island effects, flooding, more cyclones etc.
Jadavpur University, Centre for River Affairs (CRA) of South Asian Institute for Advanced Research & Development (SAIARD) hosted the first-ever two-day International Delta Summit.
The IPCC report has projected that with a 1.5°C rise on average, Kolkata will experience heat equivalent to the 2015 record heatwave every year.
