More extreme weather events in the coming years: CSE

The number of extreme climate events has risen tremendously over the past 100 years and will increase due to climate change, the Centre for Science and Environment said Thursday.

Figures presented by CSE deputy director general Chandra Bhushan revealed that the number of extreme weather events recorded between 1900-09 was 2.5, which increased to 350.4 in 2000-09.

Bhushan, in his presentation, also said that developed nations forced the R.K. Pachauri-chaired Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to "drop" a chart from the latest report of the panel, which accused Western countries of consumption-based emissions.

Bhushan said the graphic was sent to him by a friend who worked with the IPCC.

"This increase is also because of improved observation, but the truth remains that such events have increased," said Bhushan at the annual media briefing of the CSE.

"It is not yet established if frequent cyclones are related to climate change. But events of extreme weather are related to heavy rain," he said.

"In 2005, Mumbai received 994 mm of rain in 24 hours. In 2010, when there was a cloud burst in Leh, the rainfall was up to 220 mm in 30 minutes, it's like a bomb being dropped."

"In the Uttarakhand disaster, the rainfall in 24 hours was 340 mm, 850 percent more than average. In Jammu and Kashmir this year, the rainfall was 200 mm in 24 hours," he added.

"Such events are going to happen more frequently in coming years," the CSE deputy director general said.

CSE director general Sunita Narain said governments choosing to ignore the reality of climate change is a serious concern.

According to Bhushan, from 2001 to 2006, developing countries suffered the most, losing nearly one percent of their GDP to extreme weather events, while developed countries, who have more resilient economies, lost just 0.1 percent of their GDP to such events.