India welcomes the IPCC Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on Climate Change

What is the News?

India has welcomed the release of the Working Group II (WG2) contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

What is Working Group II’s Sixth IPCC Report? 

IPCC Assessment Reports are the most comprehensive evaluations of the state of the earth’s climate. So far, 5 assessment reports have been produced, the first one was released in 1990.

IPCC has been releasing the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report. The report was created by three working groups of scientists.

The Working Group I report was released in August 2021. Now the Working Group II report has been released with the title “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”.

What are the key highlights from the Working Group II’s Sixth IPCC Report?

Most populated regions are at high risk: Cities, which house more than half of the world’s population, are at the highest risk from climate change. 

Poor most hurt: Climate impacts do not distinguish between borders, but the poorest are hit the hardest. Low-income populations face the largest gap in adaptation action, in terms of what is happening versus what is needed.

Every degree of rising in warming increases risks: The adverse impacts, as well as related losses and damages, escalate with every increment of global warming. Up to 14% of species face a very high risk of extinction at global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) over pre-industrial levels. The risk increases to 29% at 3 °C and 39% at 4 °C of global warming.

Some changes irreversible: Some climate change-driven losses, such as the extinction of species, are irreversible. Others are approaching irreversibility with accelerating climate change. These include the retreat of glaciers and thawing of permafrost, particularly in the Arctic region. 

Impact on health, food, agriculture: Climate change has conclusively affected the physical and mental health of people around the world. Human society will increasingly face heat stress, water scarcity, threats to food security and flood risks as the crisis worsens. 

Source: This post is based on the article “India welcomes the IPCC Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on Climate Change” published in PIB on 28th February 2022.