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With third-largest carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in the world, India cannot probably walk away from its responsibilities of being a prominent player in the <keyword id="6361617" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Climate-Change">Climate Change</keyword> Dialogue. While international climate change negotiations are underway with talks and negotiations being tabled in Paris in a few months, India is perhaps the most discussed nation at the moment. Where do Indians stand with their commitment towards saving the earth for our children? 
 
Not too many bright spots to count at the moment. Whether it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s innovative ideas that were almost pooh-poohed at, such as cycling to work or switching the street lights off on full moon nights; or better still, looking at Yoga to answer all the climate change queries, the country is in a bit of a fix with climate change dialogues. 
 Indian government has fixed its priorities pretty robustly in the given situation where internal challenges stalk the country more than external and lofty commitments. The country, which is on the verge of a major economical change, cannot and should not, talk about commitment to the <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword>. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on the ‘developed nations’ drew flak. He said those nations which plundered the natural resources and abused the earth to create a cushy environment are more responsible to take right steps than having to shift the responsibility on India, which worships almost every aspect of nature. A pagan nation, at that! 
 
Despite this, India joins a select few countries, the list that is still growing, to make very significant efforts to show the world they are willing to do what it takes, to slow down the greenhouse gas effect. However, this was not so in the recent past. India had almost flatly refused to quantify its targets on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, on the basis that this would come in the way of poverty alleviation through creation of jobs and industries. 
 
That way, talking on climate change is a tough challenge for India which is still working to create food security for its 1.25 bn population which is growing in leaps and bounds even as the country brings some facts and figures to the Paris meet. 
 
The fact that climate change has become a major topic of discussion in the recent times especially with India being in the centre of this entire gamut of negotiations is an undeniable fact. Political analysts and experts believe though India is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, it should be given a free way to chart its own course towards the climate change agenda owing to the fact that the country is on the throes of economic shift. This will only make things better for both US and China to deal with the emerging India that would be far more responsible and accountable. 
 
Way back in 2014, China and US had come to agree that as nations, they had greater accountability than other nations on issues pertaining to climate change. The Lima Conference of Parties in some ways contravened the North-South firewall as it sought details from stakeholders at a larger level. But, on the contrary, it somehow stressed the historic differences between nations pertaining to stakes and accountability aspects. 
 
The most important breakthrough came in the form of China-US bilateral agreement on carbon emissions accepting certain terms and conditions that there was a specific time when these emissions could peak. 
 
Both countries also took the lead and said they had more responsibility on the matter than the other nations to arrive at an effective global agreement. 
 
The similarities between China and India are way too stark to ignore them. India is of the opinion that developed countries need to account for the fact that they industrialized themselves way before China and India did. As a result, climate change today has more urgency to be spelt out than the other topics. But, the crux of the matter lies in the fact that India needs to go into full-fledged industrialization with a bit of caution than China, because the neighbour is already bearing the brunt of emphasizing too much on production than smart innovation. 
In this spectrum of common-yet-differentiated responsibility, India finds itself in a tricky position. The country now finds itself sandwiched between nations that industrialized long ago, and are reaping the benefits of security and basic rights of their citizens strengthened, while India has a long road ahead. 
 
The nations that now speak of using expensive adaptation of renewable energy can afford it, owing to economic security factor. India is in a dilemma. At crossroads between emerging as an economically stronger nation, and a climate-responsible one at that, India really has to choose from the two equally important and imminent choices. 
 
The upcoming climate change meet will see India in a new light, with respect to the matter. This will be a cure indicator as to where India is headed. Will it toe the line of international players who will scuttle its choices inlands, or stand strong and choose to take the path of self-sustenance before being climate-responsible? 
 
 
 
(Image credits: klorotechpavers.com)

Climate
change: World looks at India, but where’s India looking?

As many as 2,391 people lost their lives and over eight lakh houses were damaged during the <keyword id="6358301" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="monsoon">monsoon</keyword> this year, Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. When the rains and floods hit different states, peak deployment of the National Disaster Response Force was 176 teams which rescued 98,962 people and 617 livestock besides providing medical assistance to 23,869 people in the country, he said. "During the South-west Monsoon, 2019, a number of states and union territories are reported to have been affected by floods. As per information received from the states and UTs, 2,391 human lives and 15,729 cattle were lost, 8,00,067 houses were damaged and 63.975 lakh hectares of cropped areas were affected due to floods, cloudburst, landslide," Rai said replying to a written question. ACB AQS

Freak rains and floods claimed 2,391 lives and destroyed 8 lakh homes this year

Leading planters body <keyword id="174405" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Tea-Association" source="Orion">Indian Tea Association</keyword> (ITA) said <keyword id="6361617" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">climate change</keyword> is threatening the industry globally which is resulting in lower yields and rise in production costs. A spokesman of ITA said climate change is also threatening the long-term viability of tea industry, which is also causing increasing pest infestations making pesticide residue management surfacing as a major challenge. To mitigate this, ITA said that the industry needs to adopt a multi-faceted to address the climate change issue by way of sustainable farming practices and reduction in <keyword id="6404408" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="carbon-footprint" source="Orion">carbon footprint</keyword>. In this context, the association maintained the industry involving all the stakeholders to invest in research to come out with mitigating solutions. There has also been a decline in rainfall and increase in temperature in the <keyword id="16942294" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tea-cultivating-regions" source="Orion">tea cultivating regions</keyword> for the last several years, ITA said. According to the association, future projections indicate a substantial reduction in suitability in tea cultivation in areas where the crop is grown. The other major area where work is needed to be done by the industry is that optimisation in the use of chemical fertilisers and greater use of renewable energy. In the latest data compiled by Tea Board, production in January 2023 in the country was 13.43 million kilogramme as against 16.22 million kilogramme in the same month of last calendar year. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/desk-bombing-monk-mode-other-emerging-trends-at-the-workplace-as-per-linkedin/slidelist/98973217.cms">Desk-bombing, monk mode &amp; other emerging trends at the workplace</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/haircut-on-cases-resolved-through-ibc-not-very-encouraging-says-kotak-report/articleshow/98972743.cms">Haircut on cases resolved through IBC not very encouraging, says Kotak report</a>

Climate change threatening tea sector globally: ITA

<ul><li>IBM’s new <keyword id="424037" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Weather-Forecasting">weather forecasting</keyword> model — IBM GRAF — will run on a supercomputer while using AI, cloud and analytics to predict weather events.</li><li>The company claims its new product is three times more accurate than existing global forecasting models.</li><li>GRAF will be able to predict the weather up to 12 hours in advance and its forecasts will be updated on an hourly basis.</li></ul>Climate change isn’t only crippling the planet but also cost the world nearly $225 billion in 2018 by causing severe distortions in weather patterns making business decisions uncertain. IBM has a plan to mitigate those shocks with its new weather forecasting system that runs on a supercomputer. "As weather conditions become increasingly more severe across the globe, it’s crucial that businesses across India have access to timely and accurate weather data to help stay prepared," said Cameron Clayton, General Manager of IBM and Weather. 
 
 
	<div type="image" title="ibm" msid="72489962" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Cameron Clayton, General Manager of IBM and Weather&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>






 Nearly 72% of Indians believe that the local economy has been affected by a severe weather event in 2019, according to Climate Change Perception in India. The new weather forecasting system — IBM GRAF — will be able to limit that damage. According to the company, it will be able to predict weather conditions up to 12 hours in advance — something that wasn’t available on a global scale until now. And, it won’t be doing it alone. Its calculations will be supported by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and analytics to help with decision making — for just for businesses, but users as well. How is weather forecasting going to get better? IBM promises that its predictions will be more accurate and timely. Current global forecasting models — like the European ECMWF and US’ GFS model — cover 9 to 12 kilometres at a time and are updated every six hours. In comparison, IBM GRAF is able to shrink that distance to 3 kilometre — which means its high-resolution images will be 3-4 times greater. It will provide a resolution so fine that approximations will no longer be needed to figure out where thunderstorms are headed and how they might behave. And, its forecasts will be updated six to 12 times more frequently — that’s nearly once every hour. The primary difference between global models and GRAF is how they predict the weather. Where the ECMWF and GFS solve mathematical equations to figure out how the atmosphere will flow, the GRAF model uses a variable-resolution grid — which kind of looks like a net being thrown over the planet. 
 
 <div type="image" title="MPAS-grid" msid="72489998" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;table&amp;gt;&amp;lt;tbody&amp;gt;&amp;lt;tr&amp;gt;&amp;lt;td&amp;gt;The framework on which GRAF is based enables forecasters to combine a global view of the atmosphere with a higher-resolution view of a particular region. This image is from a previous model, MPAS, on which GRAF is based . &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/td&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/tr&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/tbody&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/table&amp;gt;"></div>





 “With IBM GRAF, the granularity of insights offered will be an important factor whether it’s helping maximize crop production on agricultural lands or using satellite imagery to guide rescue efforts during a natural disaster,” said Prateep Basu, Founder and CEO of SatSure at the launch. In India, 89% of people have expressed concern that climate change could have a negative impact on the economy, according to the Climate Change Perspectives report. 66% believe severe weather events are more common now than they were a year ago. In 2019, the country was rocked by natural disasters like Cyclone Fani and the initial withdrawal of the Indian monsoon followed by its delayed onslaught. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/you-can-experience-the-end-result-of-climate-change-today-with-virtual-reality/articleshow/72217525.cms">You can experience the end result of climate change today with virtual reality</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tiktok-now-has-three-new-stickers-to-remind-users-about-climate-change/articleshow/71186982.cms">TikTok now has three new stickers to remind users about climate change</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/indias-indus-water-tower-is-the-most-important-in-the-world-but-its-also-the-most-vulnerable/articleshow/72451341.cms">India's Indus water tower is the most important in the world — but it's also the most vulnerable</a>

IBM believes its new weather forecasting system can mitigate shocks from climate change

<ul><li><keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> ranked fifth in the world in terms of absolute losses due to <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword>.</li><li>India’s monetary losses stood at a fraction of costs seen by US and China. </li><li>The human costs on climate change on India could be much worse.</li></ul>India saw $79.5 billion in economic losses between 1998 and 2017 due to climate-change disasters, ranking fifth in the world in terms of absolute monetary losses. But the country faces a far greater risk in terms of human costs and impact on development, a major UN study has warned. According to the <a href="https://www.unisdr.org/2016/iddr/IDDR2018_Economic%20Losses.pdf">study</a> by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, as a lower-middle income country, economic losses mean “crippling consequences” for future development. An alarming number of people are now internally displaced every year by extreme weather events and climate-related disasters often losing their homes and their livelihoods, the report has pointed out. Economic disasters and poverty are closely tied. According to <keyword id="6354424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank">World Bank</keyword>, the real cost to the global economy is in the tune of $520 billion per annum, with disasters putting 26 million people into poverty every year, the report noted. Floods were the most frequent types of disaster, making up 43% of all recorded events in the past 20 years. India has been seeing an increasing number of extreme weather events such as floods in recent years. According to a study by the <keyword id="6355166" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-meteorological-department">India Meteorological Department</keyword>, India saw 285 flooding events between 1950-2017 that killed 71,000 and drove 19 million into homelessness. The recent floods in the southern state of <keyword id="28504" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala">Kerala</keyword> <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/pkRlIk0b6ycCVFNRTm2MkL/A-third-of-145-million-Kerala-relief-camp-inmates-return-ho.html">displaced</a> nearly 1.5 million people. A global problem High income countries including the the US have fared much worse in terms of absolue economic losses partly due to high asset values and frequency of disaster events. India’s losses in monetary terms seem only a fraction of those seen by the US and China with the US posting the biggest losses ($945 billion), double of that seen by China at $492 billion. Globally, climate-related disasters contributed to $2.2 trillion in losses, more than two-thirds (77%) of all reported losses including other natural geophysical disasters. The study comes in the wake of another major report by the UN earlier this week which warned of <keyword id="6951828" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Runaway-climate-change">runaway climate change</keyword> with disastrous consequences if global temperatures rise beyond 1.5°C. The current targets for cutting greenhouse emissions that contribute towards <keyword id="6366055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-warming">global warming</keyword> set during the last climate accord falls significantly short and will have to be revised urgently, according to the UN. China, the European Union and the US account for more than half of total global greenhouse emissions as of 2013, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/04/interactive-chart-explains-worlds-top-10-emitters-and-how-theyve-changed">according to data </a>from the World Resources Institute. India contributed to 6.67% of global emissions with energy from fossil fuels being the largest source.

Why the staggering costs of climate change on India are much more than monetary losses

Here's where India stands on climate change

More than nine in 10 executives at electric utilities believe that <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword> has contributed to increased extreme weather events that their electricity networks have experienced over the past 10 years, said a study by <keyword id="6370971" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="accenture">Accenture</keyword>. In addition, 90 per cent believe an expected rise in severe weather poses an increased financial risk to their grid businesses. The study -- the sixth edition of Accenture's Digitally Enabled Grid research -- is based on a survey of more than 200 electric utility executives in 28 countries, including India. "Around the world, high-impact weather-related events are becoming more frequent and more severe. In 2018, India's southern state of Kerala suffered its worst monsoon flooding in a century severely impacting the electricity distribution infrastructure in the flood-ravaged areas," Sanjeev Arora, Managing Director and Lead -- Resources, Accenture in India, said in a statement. "Events like this and Cyclone Fani in 2019 in eastern India have shown us the impact of extreme weather conditions in disrupting network operations," Arora said. About 92 per cent survey respondents said they expect severe weather to increase in the next 10 years. At the same time, 88 per cent said maintaining network resilience to extreme weather will result in significant increases in network prices for customers, while only one-quarter of the respondents believe that their businesses are very well prepared to deal with the impact of extreme weather, with one in 12 reporting being poorly prepared. "With various parts of the world affected by droughts, wildfires, and flooding in addition to the U.S. hurricane season just around the corner, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and impacting the electricity grid," said Stephanie Jamison, a global industry senior managing director who leads Accenture's Utilities business. "Greater system flexibility, delivered through digital and emerging technologies, will be critical to optimising grid resilience in a cost-effective and timely manner," Jamison added. More than nine in 10 respondents (95%) believe that building greater adaptability into the network -- such as network reconfiguration, embedded storage, redundancy and voltage management -- over the next 10 years will be critical to increasing overall resilience. Further, 93 per cent see system flexibility as the most cost-effective approach to deliver long-term resilience. "Utilities need a forward-looking, holistic and flexible grid resilience strategy, with right regulatory measures, proactive investments and maintenance, to bounce back quickly from major and even multiple events -- whether it's from extreme weather, cyberattacks, earthquakes or even a pandemic," Arora said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/uber-ride-in-gurgaon-of-driver-seat-in-plastic-goes-viral-on-tiktok-and-instagram/articleshow/75771489.cms">Video of an Uber ride is all the rage on TikTok and Instagram ⁠— the driver got himself a cockpit covered in plastic</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/at-least-24-migrant-workers-killed-and-36-injured-on-their-way-home-from-rajasthan/articleshow/75770823.cms">At least 24 migrant workers killed and 36 injured on their way home from Rajasthan</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/indian-women-dont-like-being-gig-workers/articleshow/75757460.cms">Indian women don’t like being gig workers ⁠— the potentially $455 billion industry has to woo them with fair pay to start with</a>

Severe weather threatens India's electricity infrastructure —  the threats have been building up over the last 10 years

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> and <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> did not make concrete pledges to combat <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword> during a global Earth Day summit.</li><li>Both countries remained silent on new climate goals despite being among the worlds' top three greenhouse gas emitters.</li><li>Chinese officials defended the move, saying climate change should not be used as a geopolitical tool.</li></ul>Despite ranking amongst the worlds ' top greenhouse gas emitters, China and India declined to pledge new climate goals<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/14/china-us-countries-that-produce-the-most-co-2-emissions/39548763/">. </a>The two countries held back on making concrete commitments to fight climate change at the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-pledges-halve-its-emissions-by-2030-renewed-climate-fight-2021-04-22/">Earth Day climate summit, a virtual meeting of 40 world leaders</a>, even as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/biden-pledges-to-slash-greenhouse-gas-emissions-in-half-by-2030.html">other countries moved forward with their climate pledges</a>. While Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-pledges-halve-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2030-2021-4">pledged to cut the US's greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030,</a> doubling the US's goals under the Paris Climate Accord - Chinese president Xi Jinping held back from detailing any specific goals that the Chinese could take, as did Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Xi instead said he would "strictly control" coal-fired plants, as well as limit the increase in coal consumption until 2025, before phasing coal consumption out, following China's five-year plan.According to Chinese cable <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> outlet <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-04-22/President-Xi-Jinping-s-key-quotes-at-the-Leaders-Summit-on-Climate-ZFU66jdRDO/index.html">CGTN</a>, Xi added the country would "prioritize cooperation on ecological civilization in the joint building of the Belt and Road" to continue "bringing benefits" to all participating countries. Xi coined the phrase "ecological civilization" to describe the Chinese version of sustainable development, a low-carbon framework where humans and nature coexist in harmony. He intends to do this concurrently with the Belt and Road Initiative - a massive project initiated by China to connect 70 countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, via a web of land and sea networks."We must join hands, not point fingers at each other; we must maintain continuity, not reverse course easily; and we must honor commitments, not go back on promises," Xi said. Meanwhile, Modi, who spoke after Xi, did not offer any new plans for global climate action. Instead, he <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1713442">emphasized the need for "sustainable development."</a>"Today, as we discuss global climate action, I want to leave one thought with you. <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=IN&amp;most_recent_value_desc=falsealse">India's per capita carbon footprint is 60% lower than the global average</a> as our lifestyle is still rooted in sustainable traditional practices," Modi said. However, Modi announced that India and the US will <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/need-concrete-action-at-high-speed-and-on-large-scale-to-combat-climate-change-pm/article34386170.ece">jointly launch an energy and climate partnership</a> to work towards having more options for clean technology and energy efficiency.<h2>Chinese officials: climate change should not be used as a geopolitical tool</h2>The <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3130698/global-climate-summit-xi-jinping-and-joe-biden-united-drive">South China Morning Post</a> reported that Chinese officials came to Xi's defense in a press conference after the summit, saying that climate change "should not be used as a geopolitical tool." "We are at a different development stage than the US and Europe," said Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change.Xie said that China was moving faster toward carbon neutrality compared to the US and Europe, despite the "immense difficulties" it was facing in restructuring its economy. He added that Beijing and Washington would continue to talk about climate change, with a possible joint working group on climate change in the works.Climate analysts told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-india-complicate-bidens-climate-ambitions-11619116604">Wall Street Journal</a> that while activists were hoping that China would promise a carbon-emissions cap, it was unlikely to happen during the Earth Day summit."Mr. Xi obviously did not want to make any big announcement under US pressure," said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air to the Wall Street Journal. China <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/world/asia/china-climate-change.html">remains committed to its long-term goal of reaching carbon neutrality before 2060</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-targets-steeper-cut-carbon-intensity-by-2030-2020-12-12/#:~:text=ChinaChina's%20Xi%20targets%20steeper%20cut%20in%20carbon%20intensity%20by%202030&amp;text=%22(China's%20new%20target)%20demonstrates,emissions%20between%202025%20and%202030.0and%202030.">reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030</a>. However, the country is by far the world's <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/interactive-chart-shows-changes-worlds-top-10-emitters">top greenhouse gas emitter</a>, as its CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are almost double that of the US's and three times that of India's.

China and India, 2 of the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluters, stay silent on new emissions targets at global climate summit

<ul><li>At the <keyword id="3173623" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-for-india" source="Orion">Google for India</keyword> event today, various features and announcements were made for Indian users.</li><li>It announced new features for education, payments, search tools and weather conditions.</li><li>Here’s a look at all the climate-related efforts <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> announced for India today.</li></ul>Google today held its seventh ‘Google for India’ event where the company announced new features and initiatives for Indian users. A series of announcements were made including new features for Google Classrooms, support for five more Indian languages on Look to Speak, 15 billion annual transactions on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-pay-users-in-india-will-soon-be-able-to-interact-in-hinglish-split-bills-and-sell-their-products-online/articleshow/87774356.cms">Google Pay</a> and more. Google also announced new initiatives as part of its climate-related efforts in India. <div type="image" title="img (26)" msid="87775156" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Google has announced new climate-related efforts to help people in India better prepare for extreme weather events.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> In the last year, over 1,500 people lost lives in India due to weather conditions, according to data from the Indian Meteorological Department. Google wants to help Indians prepare better for these severe weather events, and help prevent the loss of lives. Google is developing a range of climate related features in collaboration with local authorities, Nofar Peled Levi, Product Manager, Crisis Response &amp; Weather, said during the Google for India event. Google in partnership with the Indian Meteorological Department has launched ‘Weather Alerts’ for extreme climatic conditions. Users will get weather alerts like ‘Severe Rainfall Alert’ or for weather conditions like heat wave, cold wave and thunderstorms. Google will display these alerts on the weather widget on Android phones. These alerts will also appear on top of Google Search results in red. It will also show alerts for less severe weather conditions in Search. Users will also be able to ask Google Assistant for weather reports and get spoken alerts. Another major area that Google is doubling down in India is floods. The company is working with local authorities on developing flood related efforts. Levi said that Google has doubled the alert lead time for floods, and that it has covered 175 of the local affected population. Google has also sent out 110 million notifications which reached 20 million affected people at the start of the monsoon season this year, Levi added. Google has also partnered with the Centre of Pollution Control Board in India to help users get the latest updates on air quality information. By searching for air quality information in Google Search, users will see detailed updates. The search results will show places with their air quality index on Google Maps, and also highlight areas with the worst air quality at present. Google has been working with local authorities for its climate-related efforts in India, and it has seen some results in the past few years. Levi said that over 65% of users in India who received weather alerts took action. In August this year, Google alerted people in Sahebganj which is located in Muzaffarpur, Bihar about incoming floods. Levi said this information helped people safely evacuate the place in due time. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-pay-users-in-india-will-soon-be-able-to-interact-in-hinglish-split-bills-and-sell-their-products-online/articleshow/87774356.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Google Pay users in India will soon be able to interact in Hinglish, split bills and sell their products online</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/here-are-all-the-android-12-bugs-and-issues-being-faced-by-users/articleshow/87733326.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Android 12 users report app crashes, battery drain and other issues</a>

More than 1500 Indians lost their lives due to extreme weather in 2020 — Google wants to lend a hand to fix it

Business has been slow at a Larsen &amp; Toubro Ltd. factory in India that makes parts for nuclear power plants. The Mumbai-based construction company opened the plant in 2012, hoping to profit from government plans to build more reactors in a country where more than 200 million people lack access to electricity. But most of the projects have gone nowhere, and L&amp;T's facility in Hazira is running at one-fifth of capacity. "That's not the best use of resources,, says Senior Vice President Y.S. Trivedi. L&amp;T's factory could soon be humming. On June 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President <keyword id="43440" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vladimir-Putin">Vladimir Putin</keyword> agreed that the two countries would work together to expand India's largest nuclear power station. In mid-May, Modi's cabinapproved a plan to add 10 Indian-made reactors with a combined output of 7,000 megawatts, roughly double the country's current nuclear capacity. The world's third-biggest producer of carbon emissions, India sees nuclear power as a way to reduce dependence on coal-burning power plants, which supply almost 60 percent of its electricity. (Nuclear accounts for less than 2 percent at present.) Modi wants to position himself as a leader in the fight against climate change at a time when the global effort is under attack from President Trump. In his June 1 announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris agreement, Trump said the deal favored India and China. A few days later, during a state visit to France, Modi trumpeted India's commitment to the 2015 accord, saying "we will work and walk together with others to leave a gift for future generations., Like Trump, Modi came into office promising to boost local manufacturing, and he wants to use nuclear power to further his "Make in India, campaign. India has 22 reactors, almost all designed by state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and built by companies such as L&amp;T. "Our domestically designed reactors are the core of our nuclear strategy,, says <keyword id="51931" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="atomic-energy">Atomic Energy</keyword> Secretary Sekhar Basu. "The foreign reactors are add-ons., Government boosterism aside, India is actually a laggard in nuclear technology. World powers banned the country from importing nuclear fuel and technology for civilian purposes for more than three decades as punishment for testing a nuclear weapon in 1974. Although the U.S. lifted the prohibition in 2006, NPCIL is still playing catch-up. Its reactors have 30 percent less capacity than designs from foreign companies and use older, simpler technology. This isn't India's first nuclear push. "Targets have been set, and they've always been missed,, says M.V. Ramana, professor at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia. "They've essentially built almost nothing., One obstacle is a 2010 law that holds companies liable in the event of a nuclear accident. General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has said it makes investing in India too risky; Toshiba Corp., owner of reactor maker Westinghouse Electric Co., said in February it needs liability reform before proceeding on six Indian plants. (Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection in March.) A 7 billion ($7.9 billion) project involving Areva SA of France has been on hold for almost seven years. To improve India's nuclear know-how, Modi could turn to China for help. But that's an unlikely prospect, says Ramana; the two countries fought a war in the early 1960s and still have unresolved border disputes. That leaves Russia's Rosatom Corp., which designed the reactors for <keyword id="54863" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="KUDANKULAM">Kudankulam</keyword> Nuclear Power Plant, India's largest. Because it's state-owned, Rosatom is less likely to be spooked by India's liability law, passed after work on Kudankulam began in 2002. "There may be no other option besides Russian vendors at this point,, says Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT. India's focus on nuclear power is misguided, regardless of whether the reactors are imported or local, says Tim Buckley, an Asia expert at the Cleveland-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. "It's absolutely bizarre that they would bother,, he says, arguing that nuclear power can't compete against lower-cost renewable alternatives such as wind and solar, which now account for close to 16 percent of India's power capacity. L&amp;T expects annual production at its Hazira plant to reach about 40 percent of capacity this year and sees further increases as Modi's plan gains momentum. "We have demonstrated that our technology is robust and safe,, says Trivedi, "and gives more value for money., The bottom line: Modi wants to bolster his green credentials by doubling India's nuclear power capacity.

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