The pleasant climate of the cotton city has always been a matter of pride for its citizens. But salubrious weather might become a thing of the past if a recent report by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, is anything to go by.
The report submitted to the city municipal corporation recently predicts that Coimbatore is likely to witness a vast temperature variation by 2030. The minimum temperature which hovers between 19C and 24C will go up by 2C in the rural areas and 4C in urban areas. The minimum night temperature is also likely to go up more than the day temperature.
Areas such as Sai Baba colony, R S Puram and Vadavalli that currently have abundant tree cover will also not escape from this phenomenon, said experts.
This temperature rise is more or less in consonance with the global average which is predicted to increase by 2C by 2030. In the UN conference on climate change held in Paris in 2015, the countries agreed that they will work together to ensure that the temperature rise will be contained at 1.5C to protect vulnerable island states. And they set the absolute limit at 2C.
In Coimbatore, experts said this temperature rise is primarily due to urbanization. Population explosion which in turn results in higher number of vehicles and there by emission of greenhouse gases will be major reasons. Factors like escalation in garbage generation, construction activities, industries, and subsequent reduction of green cover will aid in temperature increase. According to the study, nearly 40% of the GHG emissions will come from vehicles followed closely by industrial and construction sector that accounts for 29%.
It was not just the temperature but also by 2050, there will be a 15% increase in rainfall that will be high intensity but will not be spread over a period. “Almost a year’s rainfall will be experienced in a few days. This will cause floods in cities,” said professor and head of Agro climate research centre, S Panneerselvam. He added that every area in the city has its own infrastructure, soil composition, natural resources, urban spaces and green spaces that affect its climate.
Geetha Lakshmi, another climate expert said that these predictions were highly theoretical and were based on various climate calculations made in the previous decades. “It is a fact that the night temperature will increase a little above the day temperature due to the heat stress. And the urban areas will be most affected in future,” she said.
Bedo Shruthi, programme co-ordinator, sustainability, ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) said that they conducted the climate risk assessment to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Cities consume two-thirds of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of the global Co2 emissions. By 2030, cities will house 60% of the global population which means that their greenhouse gas emission will also increase. So deployment of renewable energy, promoting clean energy, increasing forest cover, sustainable transport and climate resilient urban development will help mitigate problems faced by climate change,” she said.