To prevent Mumbai from sinking, the government will form a climate change commission.

The state cabinet was presented with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s global warming report on September 1st, with an overall focus on Maharashtra and an emphasis on its coastal region, notably Mumbai.

While conducting the presentation, the environment department called for mitigating actions, stating that if temperatures rise by 2-2.5 degrees Celsius due to climate change, the city and state will be among the worst-affected in the world.

“The cabinet recognizes the need for immediate action and expresses its determination to go on with a carbon-neutral strategy,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, Principal Secretary for Environment.

“It has been determined to establish a climate change ministerial council chaired by the chief minister and co-chaired by the deputy chief minister. We have identified five areas where a time-bound climate action plan must be implemented in order to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

The department warned that if “business as usual” continues, Mumbai and other coastal districts could risk submergence, while core Maharashtra will face severe drought. According to the report, instead of functioning as carbon sinks, woods would burn due to fires.

The presentation also cautioned that ‘wet bulb temperature’ (temperature read by a thermometer wrapped in water-soaked fabric — wet-bulb thermometer — over which air is circulated) would be disastrous for Mumbai. When humidity is 100 percent, a wet bulb temperature reaches the ambient temperature and water does not provide any cooling, resulting in heat strokes among live creatures; this can cause a significant number of deaths, equivalent to those caused by earthquakes or epidemics.

According to the presentation, the effects of climate change are already being felt locally: Mumbai and surrounding regions were hit by two cyclones in rapid succession (Nisarga in 2020 and Tauktae in 2021). Landslides are also growing more common as a result of heavy rains, according to the report.

The agency cited measures made by the government to slow the pace of temperature rise, including the conservation of Aarey forest and the restoration of mangroves as steps toward conserving and building carbon sinks.

Energy (50%), industry and transportation (15% each), agriculture, and urbanisation (10% each) are the five sectors regarded as important contributors to the carbon footprint. A plan would be prepared by a minister of the department responsible, according to Mhaiskar, who will also offer data on how much money will be allocated for its implementation. The plan will then be presented to the city council.