UN Climate Change Negotiations 2012: Drought looms as India faces rain deficit

DOHA: India faces the risk of devastating drought as monsoon rains are likely to have a shortfall of 70% in the years ahead, as climate change shakes up global weather phenomena, recent research and experts at a global conference said.
The risk of adverse changes in global weather is aggravated by the fact that international efforts to act against climate change have been blocked by deep divisions among the 200 countries negotiating at the UN-sponsored climate talks at Doha.Developing countries want more funds and firm commitments from industrialised nations to cut emissions.
Narrowing these differences at the conference is important to facilitate a new global treaty to tackle global warming. Experts say research suggests that changing climate has already upset rural livelihoods, while Indian scientists say the country has already faced adverse weather phenomena.
The monsoon has regularly stumped forecasters in the first decade of the 21st century, during which the country faced the driest June in 100 years, the worst drought in four decades, dryness in the usually rainy northeastern region, heavy downpours in the Rajasthan desert and frequent month-long delays in monsoon withdrawal. The poor are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
A research project, 'Where the Rain Falls', by CARE International and the United Nations University finds that migration, particularly of poor people, on account of changing rainfall patterns is on the rise. "Our evidence-based research shows that rural people perceive climate changes happening today in the form of rainfall variability.
The changes in timing, quality, quantity and overall predictability of rainfall affect households' risk management decisions, including migration," said Koko Warner, scientific director of the 'Where the Rain Falls' project from the United Nations University.