Average annual temperature over India for the last ten years was 26 degrees

According to the Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on July 18, 2018, the average annual temperature, over the country as a whole, was 26.20⁰C for the last ten years (2008 to 2017).

• The latest IPCC report (2014) highlights that mean surface temperature of the globe has risen by 0.85⁰C ± 0.18⁰C. However, all-India mean temperature has risen nearly around 0.64⁰C (less than the rise in global temperature) over the last 110 years.

Steps undertaken in the area of Climate Change

• Following steps have been undertaken by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in the area of Climate Change:
• Launched a high-priority Programme to address the Science issues of Global and Regional Climate Change (GRCC) with a well-equipped state-of-the-art Center for Climate Change Research (CCCR) at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune for interdisciplinary research and training in the area of science of climate change.
• The Earth System Model (ESM) has been developed for generating future climate change scenarios. Currently, CCCR is leading “Co-ordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX)” for the South Asian region under the aegis of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
• The CORDEX program provides an important framework for a co-ordinated set of downscaled regional climate simulations for both the historical past and future decades. Training workshops are also conducted for end-users, stakeholders in the South Asian region.
• The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) released in 2008 by Government of India. Outlines eight missions in specific areas of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change. Eight National Missions form the core of the National Action Plan, representing multipronged, long term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change.”