Study: Human actions drive India's rising extreme rainfall and flooding
A new study shows that human actions, like pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, are the main reason behind India's rising extreme weather, including heavier rains and more flooding.
Researchers from IIT-Delhi and KSMDB College looked at over 100 years of rainfall data to separate what's caused by people from natural changes like El Nino.
T.S. Chaithra warns cities must prepare
Greenhouse gasses are heating things up, while aerosols (from air pollution) have been temporarily cooling some regions by blocking sunlight.
But as air gets cleaner and aerosols fade, the warming effect could hit harder — leading to even more intense rainstorms.
First author T.S. Chaithra, a PhD student at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi, warns that if we only look at past data, we might miss how serious future risks could be.
The takeaway: Cities need to start planning now for bigger climate challenges ahead.