Climate Change and Adaptation
This domain tests climate change impacts on Maharashtra's water cycle and adaptation choices. Expect questions on trends, extremes, vulnerability and maladaptation. The exam expects you to distinguish weather variability from a climate trend and to justify adaptation with local evidence.
Core rules
- Warming increases evaporation and atmospheric water-holding capacity; the monsoon may become more variable, with more intense short-duration rain and longer dry spells.
- Adaptation includes demand management, crop diversification, groundwater recharge, flood-proof infrastructure, heat action plans and early warning.
- Adaptation must be flexible and inclusive; hard infrastructure alone can create lock-in. Vulnerability differs by district, livelihood and access.
Worked example
A city drain is designed for 100 mm/day. New analysis suggests 150 mm/day extremes are more likely. Raising the drain alone is expensive; the city combines detention ponds, permeable surfaces, upgraded culverts at bottlenecks and a warning system. The reasoning is to reduce peak flow and exposure, not only increase pipe size.
Traps
- Confusing one extreme event with climate change.
- Assuming all adaptation is large infrastructure.
- Ignoring maladaptation, such as recharging polluted water.
- Treating all communities as equally exposed.