Global warming is defined as an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere, especially a sustained increase significant enough to cause changes in the global climate. The term global warming is synonymous with an enhanced greenhouse effect, implying an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere, leading to entrapment of more and more solar radiations, and thus increasing the overall temperature of the earth.

An introduction to the profile of India

India is the second most populous country of the world with a population over 1.2 billion. India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude. It shares a coast line of 7517 km with the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It has land boundaries with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh.

Climate of India

India exhibits a wide diversity of temperatures. The Himalayas participate in warming by preventing the cold winds from blowing in, and the Thar desert attracts the summer monsoon winds, which are responsible for making the majority of the monsoon season of India. However, the majority of the regions can be considered climatically tropical.

The climate of India is dominated by the monsoon season, which is the most important season of India, providing 80% of the annual rainfall. The season extends from June to September with an average annual rainfall between 750–1,500 mm across the region. The monsoon of India is regarded as the most productive wet season on the earth.

Impacts of global warming on climate of India

The effect of global warming on the climate of India has led to climate disasters as per some experts. India is a disaster prone area, with the statistics of 27 out of 35 states being disaster prone, with foods being the most frequent disasters. The process of global warming has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of these climatic disasters.

According to surveys, in the year 2007-2008, India ranked the third highest in the world regarding the number of significant disasters, with 18 such events in one year, resulting in the death of 1103 people due to these catastrophes.

The anticipated increase in precipitation, the melting of glaciers and expanding seas have the power to influence the Indian climate negatively, with an increase in incidence of floods, hurricanes, and storms.

Global warming may also pose a significant threat to the food security situation in India.

According to the The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, if the process of global warming continues to increase, resulting climatic disasters would cause a decrease in India’s GDP to decline by about 9%, with a decrease by 40% of the production of the major crops. A temperature increase of 2° C in India is projected to displace seven million people, with a submersion of the major cities of India like Mumbai and Chennai.

Presently in India, about 960 million tonnes of solid waste is being generated annually as by-products during industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural and other processes. Of this 350 million tonnes are organic wastes from agricultural sources; 290 million tonnes are inorganic waste of industrial and mining sectors and 4.5 million tonnes are hazardous in nature. Advances in solid waste management resulted in alternative construction materials as a substitute to traditional materials like bricks, blocks, tiles, aggregates,
ceramics, cement, lime, soil, timber and paint. To safeguard the environment, efforts are being made for recycling different wastes and utilise them in value added applications. In this paper, present status on generation and utilization of both non-hazardous and hazardous solid wastes in India, their recycling potentials and environmental implication are reported and discussed in details.

Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that employs what proponents describe as “a holistic understanding of agricultural processes”. One of the first sustainable agriculture movements, it treats soil fertility, plant growth, and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks, emphasizing spiritual and mystical perspectives. Proponents of biodynamic agriculture, including Steiner, have characterized it as “spiritual science” as part of the larger anthroposophy movement.

Biodynamics has much in common with other organic approaches – it emphasizes the use of manures and composts and excludes the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include its treatment of animals, crops, and soil as a single system; an emphasis from its beginnings on local production and distribution systems; its use of traditional and development of new local breeds and varieties; and the use of an astrological sowing and planting calendar. Biodynamic agriculture uses various herbal and mineral additives for compost additives and field sprays; these are sometimes prepared by controversial methods, such as burying ground quartz stuffed into the horn of a cow, which are said to harvest “cosmic forces in the soil”, that are more akin to sympathetic magic than agronomy.

As of 2011 biodynamic techniques were used on 142,482 hectares in 47 countries. Germany accounts for 45% of the global total the remainder average 1750 ha per country. Biodynamic methods of cultivating grapevines have been taken up by several notable vineyards. There are certification agencies for biodynamic products, most of which are members of the international biodynamics standards group Demeter International.

No difference in beneficial outcomes has been scientifically established between certified biodynamic agricultural techniques and similar organic and integrated farming practices. Critics have characterized biodynamic agriculture as pseudoscience on the basis of a lack of strong evidence for its efficacy and skepticism about aspects criticized as being magical thinking.

Lakshamana Thirtha River cleaning at Hunusur.