Way back in 1990, a US study concluded the emission of methane from paddy fields in India was as high as 38 million tonnes a year. This was when India did not have its own research capability to measure this. But, at least one Indian scientist dismissed the findings.
Climate scientist Ashesh Prosad Mitra, who headed the National Physical Laboratory and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and who died in 2007, dismissed the US findings and started a programme to measure methane emissions from paddy fields in India. The study concluded that the emission of methane from paddy fields is in the range of two to six million tonnes per annum, and this has remained an accepted figure at the international level.
International findings on scientific and climate-related issues are often aimed at favouring vested interests, feel official circles. With this in view, the ministry of environment and forests has decided to establish a National Institute for Climate and Environmental Sciences (Nice). A proposal to this effect is awaiting the last leg of government clearance.
It will be funded by the ministry, and owned and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which has contributed much towards weather and climate studies through its Indian remote sensing satellites, Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said here on Sunday. He said the institute will be India’s answer to the global concern on issues relating to climate change and greenhouse gases.
“The tragedy is that all information on climate change in India is derived from Western sources, which is often biased. The research institute we are proposing in partnership with Isro, will be the hub of research on climate studies and figures relating to these. In partnership with 127 research institutes in the country involved in the Indian Network for Comprehensive Climate Change Assessment (INCCA), the institute will build its own monitoring, measuring and modelling capabilities,” the minister added.
His ministry has agreed to provide an initial funding of Rs 40 crore for the proposed institute, to be managed by the department of space, which owns Isro. With about 100 scientists, Nice will be located in Bangalore. Isro will supplement the strength of the institute with about 40 scientists from its various centres working in the areas of climate and environment.
Isro is planning to launch two dedicated satellites in polar synchronous orbit, including one micro satellite to study atmospheric aerosols next year, which will feed information to Nice required for the research purpose, said G Madhavan Nair, chairman. The second one, to be launched in 2011, will be a remote sensing satellite which will monitor the emission of greenhouses gases like methane and carbon dioxide. This will be followed by two dedicated satellites for the study of greenhouse gases, to be launched in 2020 and 2021.
“We are serious about climate change, and we would be amongst a few countries to have dedicated satellites for studies on greenhouse gases. Presently, only the Japanese and a few European countries have their own satellites for greenhouse gases,” said Ramesh.
