Climate Change and Disaster Management in India

India is faced with the challenge for sustaining rapid economic growth while addressing the threat posed by climate change. The Indian subcontinent is among the world's most disaster prone area. Almost 85 percentage of India's area is vulnerable to one or multiple hazard. India is caught in the middle of debates on historical emission cuts, legally binding commitments for emission reduction and an effective and efficient "co-benefits" approach to address climate change. The Indian development process is guided by the aspiration of making India prosperous and progress on the path of "Development without Destruction". Hence it is of utmost importance to mainstream the climate change mitigation and adaptation into the overall development plans of the Country. In this paper an attempt has been made to highlight the extreme climatic condition in India and policies adopted for disaster management.

WHO. Environmental risk factors, such as air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change, and ultraviolet radiation contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries.  (Fig.2). Of the total displaced population 19.9 million, nearly 71 percent were affected by natural hazards and India is on the topmost position with the most vulnerabilities.

Research Problem:
Indian climate is the most unpredictable one with a wide range of weather condition across a vast geographical scale and varied topography. The monsoonal and other weather patterns in India can be widely unstable; floods, droughts, cyclones and other natural disasters have displaced or ended millions of human lives. The unpredictable climate change, its frequency, severity and its impacts on Indian Economy is a serious topic in academic discussion. Ongoing and future vegetative changes, current sea level rising, alleviant inundation of India"s low-lying coastal area are other impacts. Present study is an attempt to integrate climate change and prevalence of natural disasters in India and policies and practices to manage and mitigate the climate induced disasters.

Review of Literature:
Enormous studies have been conducted on climate change and disaster management. Yin (1949) was the first to link the process of monsoon onset to the displacement of westerly troughs to the north of the Himalayan periphery. The inter-annual monsoon rainfall variability in India leads to large-scale droughts and floods, resulting in a major effect on Indian food grains production (Parthasarathy and Pant, 1985;Selvaraju, 2003) and on the economy of the Country (Gadgil et al., 1999;Kumar and Parikh, 1998). Hingane et al., (1985); Kumar and Hingane (1988); Kumar and Parikh (1998); Gadgil and Dhorde (2005); and Ramakrishna (2007) studied from time to time on temperature variability across the country. Pant and Kumar (1997) have shown that there has been an increasing trend of mean annual temperature over India broadly consistent with the global trend and magnitude at the rate of 0.57°C/100 years. Rainfall variability, Monsoon events and periodicities were studied by ; Pai and Rajeevan (2007); Raju et al., (2008). The Indian monsoon rainfall is highly influenced by atmospheric factors such as sea surface temperature variations (Gosami et al., 2006). Studies related to changes in rainfall over India have shown that there is no statistically significant trend in the all India rainfall (Mooley and Parthasarathy, 1984;Thapliyal and Kulshrestha, 1991). Study of Sarkar and Thapliyal (1988) and Srivastava et al., (1988) indicated no trend in all India summer monsoon rainfall.  reviewed the status problems and future prospects of long range forecasts of Indian summer monsoon. Many studies carried out for the Country indicated that rice and wheat yields could decline considerably with climate change (Sinha and Swaminathan, 1991;Aggarwal and Kalra, 1994;Mall and Singh, 2000;Pathak et al., 2003).

Objectives of the Study:
Present study is based on following objectives,  To analyse the pattern of climate change and prevalence of natural disasters in India  To assess the disaster management policies and practices in India.

Methodology:
The data frame work describes the details of indicators of climate change along with policy frame work of disaster management in India. Data related to temperature and rainfalls etc are collected from Indian meteorological department, Ministry of earth science and national remote sensing agency. Glacier retraction data is elicited from geological survey of India, Bio-diversity aspects from botanical and zoological survey of India. With respect to disaster management, the website of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi is used.

Results and Discussion:
India has a distinct geographical entity since it is marked off from the rest of Asia by mountain and sea. The geologic and tectonic history of the region is highly complex. India is very rich in biological diversity due to its unique bio geographical location, diversified climatic condition and enormous eco-diversity and geo diversity. India, a mega diverse country with only 2.4 percent of the word"s land area, accounts for 7-8 percent of all recorded species, including over 45, 000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals. India holds four of four globally identified bio-diversity hot spots, The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the North-East, and the Nicobar Islands. India also has 23.39 percent of its geographical area under forest and tree cover. India share of crops is 44percent as compared to the world"s average of 11 percent. 6.1 Extreme Heat: India is already experiencing a warm climate. Under 4 0 C warming, the west coast and southern India are projected to shift to new, high-temperature climatic regimes with significant impacts on agriculture.

Changing Rainfall Patterns:
A decline in monsoon rainfall since 1950s has been already been observed. The frequency of heavy rainfall events has also increased. A 2 0 C rise in the world"s average temperature makes India"s summer monsoon highly unpredictable. In 1987 and 2002-2003 droughts affected more than half of India"s crop area and led a huge fall in crop production.  Source: Ministry of Earth Science (data.gov.in) Rising temperature with lower rainfall at the end of the season have caused significant loss in India"s rice production. Without climate change, average rice yield could have been almost 6percent higher (75 billion tonnes in absolute terms).

Glacier Melt:
Most Himalayan glaciers has been retreating over the past century. At 2.5 0 C warming, melting glaciers and the loss of snow cover over the Himalayas are expected to threaten the stability and reliability of northern indias primarily glacier-fed rivers, particularly the Indus and the Brahmaputra. Retreat of some glaciers in the North-Western Himalaya (NWH) in the last century Himalayan hot spot represents one of the high altitude eco-region of the world, rich in floral and faunal diversity. Among the 9000 species of plants around 3500 (35percent) are endemic to the region. Table.3 shows extremely abnormal rates of retreat in the NWH. 6.4 Water Crisis: Many Parts of India are already experiencing water stress. More than 60percent of India"s agriculture is rain-fed, making the country highly depend on ground water. , Even without climatic change 15 percent of India"s ground water resources are overexploited. Climaterelated impacts on water resources undermines power generation in India. Mumbai has the world"s largest population exposed to coastal flooding, with large parts of the city built on reclaimed land, below the high tide mark. Sea level rise and storms surges would lead to salt water intrusion in the coastal area, impacting agriculture, degrading ground water quality, contaminating drinking water, and possibly causing a rise in diarrhoea and cholera outbreaks. Kolkata and Mumbai, both densely populated cities, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise, tropical cyclones and riverine flooding. 6.5 Disasters and Extreme Events: Extreme climate events include heat waves, cold snaps, tropical cyclones, storm surges, floods, droughts and bushfires. Extreme climate events can have a serious impact on the environment and society, including loss of life, property and livelihoods. In recent years, the occurrence of extreme climate events and the associated damage has become highly visible. In India, About 54 per cent of the sub-continent"s landmass is vulnerable to earthquakes while about 4 core hectares is vulnerable to periodic floods. The country has suffered four major earthquakes in the span of last fifty years along with a series of moderate intensity earthquakes that have occurred at regular intervals. It is reported that during the year 2004 more than 261 earthquakes events occurred in this region before the divesting earthquake of 26th December2004 and the tsunami that followed. In 2014, natural disasters accounted 1674 human deaths and 26.85 lakh hectors of cropped area affected. Heat waves are likely to result in very substantial rise in mortality and death. In India, from 2000 to 2009 heat waves alone accounts 4081 human deaths and the intensity of the occurrence of cyclonic events also showing an increasing trend (Table.5). 6.6 Endemism: In terms of endemism of vertebrate groups, India"s position is tenth in birds with 69 species, fifth in reptiles with 156 species and seventh in amphibians with 110 species. As per 2014 data, India accounts, world"s 11.2 percentage of the estimated faunal diversity.  Trends not  available  Mammals  213  4  1  47  87  74  Birds  149  2  -80  10  57  Reptiles  33  --2  2  29  Amphibia  148  5  -68  73  2  Pisces  75  --21  42  12  Crustacea  12  ----12  Mollusca  5  ---1  4  Hymenoptera  5  Land-use change due to urbanization and industrialization, fragmentation of forests and habitats etc. are the major reason for loss of biodiversity. Data presented in table 6, and 7 gives clear indication of loss species and percentage of endemism due to climatic change. 6.7 Health Issues: Climate change is a major problem caused by the increase of human activities leading to several direct and indirect impacts on human health. The weather has a direct impact on our health. If the overall climate becomes warmer, there will be an increase in health problems. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in the number of deaths due to greater frequency and severity of heat waves and other extreme weather events. The elderly, the very young and those suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular disorders will probably be affected by such weather extremes as they have lesser coping capacity. An extreme rise in the temperature will affect people living in the urban areas more than those in the rural areas. Fluctuation in the climate especially in the temperature, precipitation, and humidity can influence biological organisms and the processes linked to the spread of infectious diseases.. Due to global warming there will be an increase in the areas of habitat of disease-spreading insects such as the mosquito, causing an increase in the transmission of infection through these carriers. Climate change is expected to have major health impacts in India, increasing malnutrition and related health disorders such as stunting. Child stunting is projected to increase by 35 percent by 2050 compared to a scenario without climate change. Malaria and vector-borne diseases along with and diarrheal infections which are a major cause of child mortality are likely to be spread in to the areas of extreme vulnerable climatic condition. There is a high incidence of occurrence of vector borne diseases like Malaria, Kala -azar, Japanese Encephalitis, filaria, Chikungunia etc., in the immediate past (Table.8). It is observed that changes in climatic patterns may alter the distribution of vector species and increase its spread in new areas. An increase in temperature and relative humidity may enlarge the transmission windows. More than one billion people all over the world relay on sea food as their primary food item. Occurrences of cancers and preneoplastic conditions

International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
Impact Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 -5428  (www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume 3, Issue 1, 2018 initiated and promoted by pollutant exposure have been observed in marine taxa ranging from invertebrates to marine mammals. A significant proportion of chemicals detected in seafood samples were carcinogenic and likely to cause public health risk.

Disaster Management; Policy Frame Work and Practices in India:
In India, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the nodal agency for the planning, promotion, co-ordination and overseeing the implementation of India"s environmental and forestry policies and programmes. Along with this, It serves a link to the International agencies including United nations Environment Programme (UNEP), South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and for the follow-up of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The Ministry is also entrusted with issues related to multilateral bodies such as Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and of regional bodies like Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) on matters pertaining to climate change.

Indian Constitution and Disaster Management:
The chapter of fundamental duties of the Indian constitution imposes duty on every citizen to protect environment. Article 51-A(g) says that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures." Article 48-A of the Indian Constitution says that "The state shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country". Public Interest Litigation under Article 32 and 226 of Indian Constitution resulted in a wave of environmental litigation. Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) in India is a standard process used to foresee the environmental consequence of a policy, plan, project or program before implementing them.EIA is an equally an early warning process and an ongoing review process that protects susceptible environmental resources from unjustifiable damage. EIA s made compulsory on various projects to get environmental clearance.

Regulatory Framework:
Over the years, a number of laws have been enacted to protect the environment and mitigate the climatic disasters. The regulatory framework consists of the following acts.  Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 -5428  (www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume 3, Issue 1, 2018  It states that there shall be no discrimination on the ground of sex, caste, community, descent or religion in providing compensation and relief. "Disaster" is defined as follows under Section 2(a) of the DM Act:"Disaster" means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area;" Section 2(e) of the DM Act defines Disaster Management as follows: 'Disaster management' means a continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for:- preparedness to deal with any disaster;  prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster;  assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster;  evacuation, rescue and relief;  Rehabilitation and reconstruction."

National Disaster Management System in India:
In the federal set-up of India, the responsibility to formulate the Governments response to a natural calamity is essentially that of the concerned State government. However, the Central Government, with its resources, physical and financial does provide the needed help and assistance to buttress relief efforts in the wake of major natural disasters. The dimensions of the response at the level of Central Government are determined in accordance with the existing policy of financing the relief expenditure and keeping in view the factors like: (i) the gravity of a natural calamity, (ii) the scale of the relief operation necessary, and (iii) the requirements of Central assistance for augmenting the financial resources at the disposal of the State Government.
The Division of Disaster Management of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is the nodal ministry for all matters concerning disasters at the Centre except the drought. The Drought Management is looked after by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The National Contingency Action Plan (NCAP) facilitates launching of relief and rescue operations without delay. The CAP identifies initiatives required to be taken by various Central Ministries, and Public Departments like in the wake of natural calamities, sets down the procedures and determines the focal points in the administrative machinery. As pointed out earlier, the central government only supplements the efforts of the State Government. State Governments are autonomous in organizing relief operations in the event of natural disaster and in the long-term preparedness/ rehabilitation measures. The States have Relief Commissioners who are in charge of the relief measures in the wake of natural disasters in their respective states. In the absence of the Relief Commissioner, the Chief Secretary or an Officer nominated by him is overall in-charge of the Relief operations in the concerned State. The Chief Secretary is the head of the State Administration. The State Headquarters has, in addition, a number of Secretaries who head the various Departments handling specific subjects under the overall supervision and co-ordination of the Chief Secretary. At the level of the State Government natural disasters are usually the responsibility of the Revenue Department or the Relief Department. States are further divided into districts, each headed by a District Collector (also known as District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner). It is the District Collector who is the focal point at the district level for directing, supervising and monitoring relief measures for disaster and for preparation of district level plans.

Institutional Policy Framework for a Safe Future, Mitigation and Prevention:
 The institutional and policy mechanisms for carrying out response, relief and rehabilitation have been well-established since Independence. These mechanisms have proved to be robust and effective insofar as response, relief and rehabilitation are concerned. Organization and training of personnel and coordination of such training for effective management of disasters;" Long term measures: The long term measures are the actions of the Authority in relation to prevention of disaster as well as capacity building. This measure equips the Authority to meet any contingencies that arise out of a disaster. Hybrid measures: The statutory provisions in the DM Act do not indicate about this measure specifically. This measure is a combination of emergency measure and long term measure. In this process, urgent action to respond to disaster can be converted as long term measures. There may be a situation where a building owned by a private person need to be demolished immediately for rescue operation. 7.7 Role of Local Bodies: Local governance institutions, with their grass-root level contacts with the common people, can make a substantial contribution to the process of spreading awareness and ensuring an active people"s participation in disaster mitigation activities. They are the ideal channels for NGOs and other agencies that conduct any disaster management programme, right from relief, recovery and rehabilitation to planning for mitigation and prevention. 7.8 Role of Non Governmental Organizations: Emerging trends in managing natural disasters have highlighted the role of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as one of the most effective alternative means of achieving an efficient communication link between the Disaster Management agencies and the affected community. Many different types of NGOs are already working at advocacy level as well as grassroots level; in typical disaster situations they can be of help in preparedness, relief and rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction and also in monitoring and feedback. 7.9 Role of the Community: It has now been revealed that the community as an institution in itself is emerging as an effective player in the entire mechanism of disaster administration. In the event of actual disasters, the community, if well aware of the preventive actions it is required to take can substantially reduce the damage caused by the disaster. Awareness and training of the community is particularly useful in areas that are prone to frequent disasters.

Conclusion:
The country has an integrated administrative machinery for disaster management at National, Provincial (State), District and Sub-District levels. India, besides evolving effective post-disaster management operations, has also formulated and implemented pre-disaster mitigation programmes and sectoral development programmes to reduce the impact of disasters as well as reduce the socio-economic vulnerabilities. It is absolutely necessary to create awareness amongst the public as well as decision makers for allocating resources for appropriate investments in disaster management. India is committed to the goals and objectives of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. A special plan programme is now implemented for development of human resources, encouraging research and documentation and enhancing community awareness in the field of natural disasters. In spite of initiating various disaster mitigation measures, the trend of losses is not indicating any sign of improvement. Population pressure, environmental degradation, migration and unplanned urbanisation are some of the major factors contributing to increase the vulnerability. As such need has been felt to accelerate the pace of disaster mitigation efforts in the country, Now India is planned to give more stress on linkage of disaster mitigation with development plans, effective communication system , use of latest information technology, insurance, extensive public awareness and education campaigns particularly in the rural areas legal and legislative support, involvement of private sector , strengthening of institutional mechanism including Natural Disaster Management Division in the nodal Ministry of Agriculture, strengthening international co-operation at regional and bi-lateral level etc. 9. References: