As a developing economy, India has numerous developmental aspirations. How India meets these goals without worsening the climate crisis is at the heart of CSTEP's work. Addressing climate change and enabling a secure and sustainable future for Indian citizens require an overhaul of previous paradigms on development and resource utilisation. This is reflected in our work on developing low-carbon trajectories for development with an emphasis on nature-based solutions.
We are working with state governments across India to build capacity on risk and vulnerability assessments to inform their respective action plans on climate change. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial to achieving a secure and sustainable future. CSTEP's studies explore the possibility of a greater integration of renewables in the energy sector.
Climate change: How infrastructure can weather the storm
Riding on its vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the government of India recently announced a slew of projects in the budget to reboot the economy, which went slack because of COVID. These projects, including the National Infrastructure Pipeline to 7,400 projects, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Smart Cities Mission, offer an opportunity to mainstream climate risks and nature-based solutions (NbS) into infrastructure.
High‐resolution Climate Change Projection of Northeast Monsoon Rainfall over Peninsular India
In this study, projected changes in mean northeast monsoon (NEM) rainfall and associated extreme rainfall and temperature events, over peninsular India (PI) and its six subdivisions are quantified. High‐resolution dynamically downscaled simulation of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model driven by the boundary conditions from Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) model (WRF‐CCSM4) is compared with statistically downscaled simulations of NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX‐GDDP).
PM2.5/PM10 ratio characteristics over urban sites of India
• PM2.5/PM10 ratio characteristics over India using multi-site and multi-year data.
• Suppressed PM2.5/PM10 ratio variations compared to that observed in PM concentrations.
• MERRA-2 derived PM2.5/PM10 ratio found to be overestimating during colder months.
• Weak relationship between the PM2.5/PM10 ratio and meteorological parameters.
How Vulnerable Are India’s Himalayan Region States to Climate Change?
In 2018, a group of academic institutions initiated a project to build capacities of the 12 Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) states through robust assessments of climate change vulnerability, adaptation planning, and implementation. A standardised assessment of vulnerability allows stakeholders to compare vulnerability across states, probe what has caused their vulnerability, and investigate how they might address these vulnerabilities.
Agroforestry to Achieve Global Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Targets: Are South Asian Countries Sufficiently Prepared?
Traditional agroforestry systems across South Asia have historically supported millions of smallholding farmers. Since, 2007 agroforestry has received attention in global climate discussions for its carbon sink potential. Agroforestry plays a defining role in offsetting greenhouse gases, providing sustainable livelihoods, localizing Sustainable Development Goals and achieving biodiversity targets. The review explores evidence of agroforestry systems for human well-being along with its climate adaptation and mitigation potential for South Asia.
How Green Infrastructure Can Lend a ‘Healing Touch’ to Urban Spaces
Rarely has a singular event in the recent past changed our way of life as drastically as the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new normal, home has become the epicentre of not just personal but professional life too. Physical activities are restricted to the yard, terrace, balcony, or a room inside the house. The lack of social and environmental interactions and recreational activities, however, is leading to increased stress levels, calling for urgent measures to tackle it.
CSTEP Signs MoU With Seshadripuram Institute of Commerce and Management
CSTEP signed an MoU with the Seshadripuram Institute of Commerce and Management, Bangalore, on 15 February 2021. CSTEP aims to create awareness among students and faculty on climate change–related issues, conduct workshops on topics of mutual interest, and provide guidance to students conducting research in the area of environment and sustainability. Students would also volunteer for conducting surveys on related issues.
A climate-resilient rainfed agriculture
India has been witnessing variable monsoon for the past few years. The last year was marked by surplus rain in June, deficit rain in July, and surplus rain in August and September, as reported by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. This inconsistency in the monsoon rainfall pattern is an indication that extreme weather events might become the norm, rather than the exception, in the coming years. The Global Climate Risk Index 2020, released recently, puts India seventh in the list of countries worst hit by extreme events.