Did you know?

Did you know?
The Gangotri glacier is retreating at a speed of about 30 metres a year and warming is likely to increase the rate of melting
	The Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas is the source of water for the perennial river Ganga. This glacier like many others all over the world has also felt the impact of climate change. Studies carried out in the past few years have shown that the glacier is retreating at a speed of about 30 metres every year. If warming continues, it will melt rapidly, releasing large volumes of water but once this source begins drying, there may be dry periods with very little water flowing in the river. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001
A 1-metre rise in sea level would displace about 7 million people in India
	If the earth's surface warms by about 2 慢, sea levels are expected to rise because of two factors: first, glaciers and polar ice sheets will melt and release water into the seas and oceans. Second, water will expand due to heating and also contribute to a rise in sea level. By 2100, a rise of about 9 cm to 88 cm is expected which will have a physical impact on coastal areas by increasing flooding and the intrusion of salt water. Low-lying areas of the world may be submerged leaving the people who live there homeless and landless. In the developing countries and small island states, coastal areas are densely populated and millions of people are likely to be affected - about 7 million people in our own country are projected to suffer the effects of a 1-m sea-level rise. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001
Fossil-fuel burning has contributed to most of the greenhouse gas emissions in the past 20 years
	About three-quarters of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere during the past 20 years have been due to fossil-fuel burning. Activities consuming fossil fuels include power generation, industrial/manufacturing processes, transport. The rest of carbon dioxide emissions are predominantly due to land-use change, especially deforestation. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001
The decade of the 1990s was the warmest, and 1998 was the warmest year on record, since 1861
	Scientists began systematically recording temperatures at specific locations on the earth's surface around the 1860s. Since then, 1998 has been the hottest year and the decade of the 1990s was the warmest. The increase in surface temperature over the 20th century for the Northern Hemisphere is likely to have been greater than for any other century in the last thousand years. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001
The population of ice-dependent penguin species in the Western Antarctic Peninsula has decreased by 20% over the last 25 years
	In the Western Antarctic Peninsula, there has been a 20% decrease in the number of Adelie penguins since 1973 because sea ice is melting and reducing their habitat. Evidence from marine ecosystems has shown changes in the abundance of species, diversity and spatial distribution associated with rises in the air and ocean temperature. Decreases in the population of Adelie (Pygoscelis adeliae) penguins, and declines in rockhopper penguins in recent decades could have also been caused by differential responses to warming climate conditions that are altering bird habitats. Researchers think that higher temperatures may have melted ice shelves, which in turn, cooled the surrounding sea water unusually. This could have affected the entire food chain, reducing the amount of food available to the penguins. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001
Projections for the 21st century indicate that the earth's average temperature will rise by anything between 1.4 and 5.8慢
	The global-average surface temperature is projected to increase by 1.4 to 5.8蚓 over the period 1990 to 2100. There is a range associated with these temperature projections because they are based on different scenarios. These scenarios assume different social, technological, economic, and demographic levels of development, so the projected concentrations of GHGs under each scenario also vary. There are other uncertainties due to the effects of climate feedback and carbon sinks (removal processes). Source IPCC Third Assessment Report. 2001