The agricultural areas in the Indus and Ganges river basins will be hard-hit
A group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday published a study that reveals that the survival of humans in much of South Asia is at risk as the climate change could make the area too hot by the end of this century.
The agricultural areas in the Indus and Ganges river basins will be hard-hit and deadly heatwaves will strike parts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh if the climate change continues at its current pace, Reuters reported.
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“Climate change is not an abstract concept, it is impacting huge numbers of vulnerable people,” the news agency quoted MIT Professor Elfatih Eltahir, who is the co-author of the study. “Business as usual runs the risk of having extremely lethal heat waves.”
According to Eltahir, the worst affected areas would be northern India, southern Pakistan and Bangladesh. The climate change will reduce the crop yields and will increase the hunger in most of the regions.
By 2100, the number of people exposed to the extreme combinations of heat and humidity will increase to about 70 percent. As the rate is about just 2 percent now, the study suggests the need for strong remedies to mitigate climate change.
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The title of world’s hottest region would be going to the Gulf region by next hundred years and heat waves will become more frequent and intense by that time.
The study also points that the Gulf countries, with small, wealthy populations and minimal domestic food production requirements, can face the condition better than the other South Asian countries.
However, the study does not mention about the migration. But, the researchers said that millions from the South Asian population will be forced to leave their birthplaces until serious efforts to reduces greenhouse gas emission are properly implemented.