Department of Science and Technology organised Climate Change Conclave at IIT Delhi
In picture- From Left: Dr Swati Jain, Dr Shyamasree Dasgupta, Prof. N H Ravindranath, Prof. Saroj K. Mishra, Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser DST; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST; Dr. Anita Gupta, Head CEST DST; Dr Susheela Negi, & Dr. Anamika Barua
The Department of Science and Technology organized a
Climate Change Conclave spanning over two days from 27th–28 May 2024 at
the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
The conclave brought together experts from all over India
to dwell on the need for developing foundational models in Artificial
Intelligence (AI) for climate modelling in the Indian context, quality control
of data and improving climate predictions as well as strengthening interactions
with people for better climate adaptation solutions.
Prof. Abhay
Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), while
addressing the conclave, said “The two missions of DST—the National Mission for
Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and the National Mission on Strategic
Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC) have led to significant progress in terms
of supporting 19 CoEs and 37 major R&D programs over the years.” Speaking
further he highlighted the need to focus more on developing foundational models
in AI in the Indian context.”
Secretary, DST while releasing the draft executive
summary of ‘District Level Climate Risk Assessment for India’ added that
indigenous climate models based on data will provide better understanding for
addressing climate change. He said, “Collective efforts towards a holistic
approach involving researchers from multiple disciplines and a range of
stakeholders can help address the ongoing challenges of climate change and its
effect on agriculture, water and the environment."
Dr. Akhilesh
Gupta, Senior Advisor at DST, dwelled upon the inception and evolution of DST’s
Climate Change Programme, the interventions DST brought about in the National
Actions Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC), and the process of developing and
mentoring climate change science and adaptation R&D programmes all over the
country.
Stressing that
climate solutions were about securing the future for generations to come, Dr.
Gupta urged communities to come together and not just analyze the problems but
work collaboratively towards solutions.
Dr. Anita Gupta, Head of Climate, Energy, and Sustainable
Technology (CEST), DST, emphasized the urgency for solutions to the climate
change problem given that 40% of the world's population was already vulnerable
to the adverse effects of climate change. She outlined how DST’s two missions
under NAPCC were working towards such solutions by supporting R&D
programmes throughout the country. She also spoke about Mission Innovation, a
global initiative launched in 2015 for clean energy solutions in which DST was
participating.
Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director of IIT Delhi, highlighted
the efforts of the Centre of Excellence on climate change modelling at IIT
Delhi in innovative mitigation technologies like coal-to-methanol conversion,
blue hydrogen production, and carbon capture and storage.
Several other climate change experts from IIT Delhi, IIT
Bhubaneshwar, Banaras Hindu University, University of Delhi, Kashmir
University, IISc, University of Allahabad, Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology, India Meteorological Department, ICRISAT, the DST Centres of
Excellence as well as DST officials participated in the meeting.