Global warming has hit the entire world but its effects are more evident in some parts of world, of which India is one. We have all been hearing about global warming in India; rains in the deserts of Rajasthan, warmer temperatures in the freezing months of Delhi and devastating cyclones in the south Peninsula. But what about the dangerous impact of global warming on our precious biodiversity that is home to some of most exquisite and now endangered species. Did you know the dainty butterflies are one of them?
An IPCC (Intergovernmental panel on climate change) report on global warming, warned of an “increased risk of extinction to 20 to 30 percent of the plant and animal species.” Although in the past, plants and animals have adapted to climate change, but scientists and weather forecasters at Skymet worry that climatic change due to global warming in India is now occurring so fast that plants and animals will not be able to adapt and cope up with pace this time—plus the places they can migrate to are limited because of human occupation—there is a strong possibility butterflies will go extinct though they are trying to survive by shifting their range and migrating to other areas. Biodiversity hotspots Western Ghats and Himalayan region, which are a pool of genetic diversity and home to some 68,000 insects, are struggling for their existence due to global warming in India. The climate change in India, industrial effluents, loss of natural habitats and increasing human greed are causing India’s biodiversity deterioration.
According to a global study by the Zoological Society of London, seeing the extinction rate, which is 40,000 times higher than before, bumblebees, beetles and butterflies are at a greater risk of extinction than lions and tigers. These critters form the basis of many of the essential benefits that nature provides and if they disappear, humans could soon follow. Insects, slugs and snails may not be as glamorous as lions or dolphins but are just as important to life on earth. Studies also show that if steps are not taken to address the effects of global warming in India and across the world, and the protection of biodiversity ensured, butterflies would go extinct within 50 years.
According to CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) reports another appalling factor about global warming in India and the reason for possible extinction of butterflies has come to light. This points out that the invasion of alien species of insects and animals has contributed to nearly 40 per cent of all animal extinction.
Photo by WN/ Bhaskar Mallick.
