Greater investment in monsoon research needed, says Jairam Ramesh

Asserting that greater investment in monsoon research along with leading-edge computational facilities is essential, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday, 29 August said grandiose pronouncements are no substitute for investing in institutions and called for reviving the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment.

The former environment minister said the current phase of the monsoon across most of the country reinforces what has been evident for a few years.

The frequency of extreme events has only increased with global warming, he pointed out.

While the long period average of rainfall may not have changed significantly, the intensity certainly has, making for the actual days of rainfall to be compressed but with greater force, Ramesh said.

The monsoon-and its day-to-day behaviour has become far more variable in the past three decades, he noted and added that extreme wet days have increased but so also dry days.

All said and done, even as the Indian economy expands, the monsoon will continue to be critical to our country and indeed to the sub-continent as well especially in terms of livelihoods, he said.

Ramesh stressed that greater investments in monsoon research and dynamics with leading-edge computational facilities are essential.

"This has to be a global and public-private enterprise in which India has to take the lead. The changes in the monsoon's behaviour also has major consequences for agriculture, water and infrastructure planning," he said.

"So far sadly, it has been business-as-usual. Grandiose pronouncements are no substitute for investing massively in institutions," Ramesh said.

In 2009 the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) was set up with a 3M objective 'Model, Measure and Monitor', he said and added that it needs to be revived.