Dear readers,

In my view climate change concerns will bring about a slow but definite modification in the way the world thinks. Over the years the world has become a conglomerate of regions specialising in different economic activities.

In such a scenario not only developing but developed nations too will find it difficult to generate resources for desirable levels of progress. Added with the realisation that climate change poses a threat to the fragile link between land and their people, it is now imperative to address concerns that are being projected real time by scientists. Projections suggest that arable areas are likely to undergo a change, especially in coastal zones, marine zones and high altitude regions. Thus patterns of water usage, agriculture and crop yield, forestry etc., will need a fresh review globally as well as regionally. Increased risk of droughts, change in sea levels, degradation of water quality, frequency of certain diseases, warming and vector related deaths, are areas that would need scientific exploration to mitigate the damage potential. Displacement of human population from densely inhabited coastal regions, greatly opposed by the fact that coasts will continue to remain economically attractive, poses a challenge for fledging economies around the world.

Climate in India has perceptibly changed in the last hundred years. The decadal and long term changes observed have pointed towards increasing events of heavy rainfall, rapid warming of the Indian Ocean, weakening of monsoon Hadley Circulation and more. The sea surface temperature of equatorial Indian Ocean has warmed by about 1.5^oC since 1950, which is much more than the warming of the other parts of the Indian Ocean during that period. Extreme rainfall events have increased in the recent decades. With reduced moderate events replenishing of soil moisture and recharging of groundwater pose a serious concern. Substantial increase in hazards related to heavy rain is expected over Central India in the future. Landslides, flashfloods and crop damage can have major impact on societies, degrading land environment across the country. The arid western part of the Indian sub-continent, including the western part of Rajasthan and the adjoining part of Pakistan is likely to experience large climatic changes. Climate change concerns have compelled us to take up a number of researchable issues aimed at stabilising the land productivity and uncertainty management. These include improving the water use efficiency of crops, developing heat tolerance, specially in the high value temperature sensitive crops, management strategies to meet the likely challenges of increased frequencies of droughts and floods, strategies to increase green cover in sandy terrain to minimise wind erosion and thus soil nutrient loss. Improving the livestock production system and face the challenges of animal health, feed and other uncertainties with perceived changes in climate needs concerted efforts. As such, consultancy, advocacy and legal support with a renewable power orientation is the way forward for India.