India 15% more vulnerable to heat extremes than in 1990: Lancet report

India was 15% more vulnerable to heat extremes in 2019 than it was in 1990, according to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. The report also revealed that India is one of the five countries with the highest exposure of vulnerable populations to heatwaves over the past five years, and the exposure is increasing. The report revealed that 295 billion hours of potential work were lost across the globe in 2020 due to heat exposure, with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India reporting the greatest losses (2.5–3 times the world average). 

Meanwhile, the monsoon season still refuses to end across the Indian subcontinent. Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain killed around 150 people in India and Nepal in the past week. Uttarakhand was the worst hit, and reported 48 deaths. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued orange and yellow alerts across the state of Kerala. The IMD, however, did predict the southwest monsoon would withdraw from the country by October 26. 

Plastic production could emit more GHGs than coal plants within 10 years: Report

The production of plastic, which is a highly carbon-intensive process, is likely to emit more greenhouse gases than coal-fired plants within this decade, a new study predicted. According to the report by Bennington College and Beyond Plastic, the plastic industry emits 232 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, which is equivalent to the GHGs emitted by 116 coal plants. But with more than a dozen plastic plants under construction and some more being planned, these emissions are likely to cancel out any gains made by reducing or ending the use of coal-powered plants, the report stated.

Climate change reducing ice thickness of lakes across world: Study

The ecosystems of lakes across the world have been jeopardised by climate change, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature. The effect of climate change on ice seasonality and water temperature, especially, seems to be having a profound effect on the ecosystems, seen primarily in the reducing thickness of the ice. The study used hincasts and projections from five lake models. According to the study, the impact on ice thickness and lake temperatures will ‘profoundly alter’ the functioning of the lake ecosystems and the services they provide.  

More than 99% consensus in peer-reviewed scientific literature on human-caused climate change: Study 

More than 99% of peer-reviewed scientific literature agrees that climate change is driven by human activity, a new study found. The study examined 3,000 climate-related papers published since 2012 before arriving at the conclusion. It found only four of the 3,000 papers were sceptical of human-caused climate change.

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