PANJIM: Changes in the Polar Regions influence the monsoonal patterns, which are critical for agriculture in India. A disruption in these patterns could have severe consequences for food security and water resources, informed Rahul Mohan, 'Scientist F', National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
Mohan was amongst 21 recipients of the prestigious National Geoscience Award for the year 2023. He was awarded for his “groundbreaking research on climate change” in the Polar Regions and Southern Ocean.
Reacting to his winning the award, Mohan said, “I am humbled to receive the award, which for me is an incredible honour. It feels immensely gratifying to be on the list of people whose work is recognised at the national level.”
Speaking about his work at NCPOR, Mohan said, “My team and co-workers are working on multiple microfossil records under the discipline of micropaleontology and sedimentological studies in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. These microfossils have unique niches, and they are like micro-recorders of our climate. Therefore, they help us to understand climate change at different time scales.
Speaking on the overall climate situation, the senior scientist said, “The situation is indeed tense. The rate of glaciers melting in both Greenland and Antarctica has increased dramatically over the past few decades. In the last two decades, the largest ice sheets in Antarctica have shown signs of distress, and its margins are showing signs and effects of warming.”
On the impact of ice melting on India, he said, “Indian monsoons are connected to the Polar Regions. Antarctica is a big refrigerator of ice and a key modulator in the climate change scenario. It holds the largest uncertainty in terms of change both in climate and sea-level change.”
“Through study of microfossils, we are trying to understand how sea ice would have played a role in changing the monsoonal intensity. Our studies indirectly address the implications of climate change by understanding the present and past,” Mohan said.
He pointed out that the change in Polar Regions will leave no region unaffected on the globe, although the scales of change and its impact may differ. For India and its coastal cities, the potential rise in sea levels (due to the polar ice melt and or thermal expansion due to the warming of oceans) could threaten coastal cities and densely populated regions.
Moreover, the increase in extreme weather events linked to global climate change poses a growing risk to India’s infrastructure, economy and climate budgeting.
“The findings from our studies related to climate change provide crucial insights that can help the Centre in forming targeted mitigation strategies,” the NCPOR scientist said.