Title : Climate Change and its Impact on Society: A Case Study of Rajasthan State, India
Abstract:
The state is situated on the north-western part of India. The state is spread over an area of about 340000 sq. km. making it the largest state in the country. The Population of Rajasthan according to the 2011 census at about 68 million, making it the 8th most populated state in India. The state comprises of 33 districts, 39,753 inhabited villages. The forest cover of the State contributes 4.19 percent to the national forest cover with 10.4 percent of the country’s area and 5.5 percent of its population. Climate change may alter the distribution and quality of state natural resources and adversely affect the livelihood of its people. With an economy closely tied to its natural resource base and climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water and forestry, Rajasthan state may face a major threat because of the projected changes in climate. It is difficult to detect global warming directly because most people experience changes only in local weather patterns, which are highly variable and may not reflect long-term global climate trends. However, local climate-change experience may play an important role in adaptation and mitigation behaviour and policy support. In this paper the author extent to which respondents in Rajasthan State detects recent changes in average local temperatures. These findings also suggest that public opinion of climate change may shift, at least in part, in response to the personal experience of climate change. Most of people reported that climate is changing and everybody will suffer due to its near future.
The paper is useful for academician and policy maker to understand the global climate scenario based on actual research based on primary data. How the society is feeling the climate change and what will the possible impact and how to cop up with this issue.
