CEPT to develop guidelines for Indian cities to adapt to climate change

  Imagine sudden floods at Sabarmati River arising out of climate change and a loss of Rs1,200 crore for Gujarat's Sabarmati Riverfront project!

A prior understanding of the effects of climate change and including features to adapt to these effects of climate change in the project could avoid such loses.

As experts are forecasting drastic changes in the climatic patterns - like temperatures, rainfall and so on in the next few decades because of global warming, which is a threat to both population and infrastructures in various cities. Urban planners in the country, however, could look forward to Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University for a set of ideas and advices on how to adapt features that will help avoid such losses.

The Ministry of Earth Science (MOES) has appointed Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University to develop a set of recommendations for urban planning to avoid social and economical losses arising out of climate change. Faculties of CEPT University will be conducting 2-year-long studies in three thematic areas - which include impact of climate change on communities, rainfall and flooding patterns in Ahmedabad and Surat and impact of climate change on coastal areas, before they come up with the recommendations.
Talking about the importance of such a set of recommendations, faculty at CEPT Saswat Badopadhyay said, "Infrastructures like drainage systems, roads and transportations, buildings and so on which we are developing now will last several decades. If they do not incorporate features to adapt to climate change there are going to be huge losses."
The studies will result into a set of recommendations that will be called 'sustainable habitat guideline'. "The guidelines will be handed over to Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD) and MOES. These guidelines will be developed in such a way that it can become a basic reference for various cities across the country for adapting to climate change," said Saswat Badopadhyay, faculty at CEPT.

By: the times of india