India to heat up sooner than later?

A new report forecasts that average temperatures in India could climb 2 degrees C within two decades, with even higher temperatures projected for some coastal regions. According to the Indian network for Climate Change Assessment, a group of more than 100 scientific organizations, the nation could see temperatures jump 1.7 to 2.3 degrees C by the 2030s compared to temperatures in the 1970s.

That temperature shift will likely mean more extreme weather, the study projects, with increasingly intense downpours but fewer days of rain overall, which would likely mean a greater likelihood of flooding and drought.

Meanwhile, another study recently had warned that some of the world’s fastest-growing economies — including India and Bangladesh — are also the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The nations at the most extreme risk are those already dealing with high poverty levels, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events, and a reliance on flood- or drought-prone agricultural lands, according the Climate Change Vulnerability Index.

While India is already one the world’s largest economies, its vulnerability to climate-related events could scare off foreign investment in the coming decades, the report says.

Juxtapose that with the prime minister's acknowledgement that India's rapidly growing economy and automotive industry could lead to a 40 percent increase in demand for hydrocarbon fuels in the next decade, and you have big trouble ahead.

In an era of energy security concerns and climate change immediacy, the wise thing would be to look at ways to conserve energy, especially fossil fuel based energy. Instead developing nations are galloping away with big, impractical solutions that invariably revolve around huge infrastructure projects that eat not only energy but also resources.

Local decentralised and small units would seem the sensible way ahead. Any thoughts?