Analyze the impact of climate change on India’s electricity infrastructure and disaster management, considering the rising demand and heightened vulnerability. What strategies should be implemented to strengthen resilience against these challenges? (10M, 150 words) [GS-3: Infrastructure]

Introduction

• The unusually high electricity demand led to frequent power cuts in Delhi and neighboring areas, with central and eastern India facing even more severe situations.
• The lack of electricity, combined with abnormally high night temperatures, contributed to several heat-related deaths.
• This extraordinary increase in electricity demand highlights the stress essential infrastructure experiences due to extreme weather occurrences and subsequent calamities.
• Besides power systems, disasters disrupt telecommunications, transportation, health services, and even cyber networks.

Body

Implications of Climate Change:

• Early Warnings and Response: Effective early warning systems and prompt responses have significantly reduced human mortality and economic damage during catastrophes caused by extreme weather events.
• Long-term Costs: The long-term costs, such as lost livelihoods and reduced agricultural land fertility, are considerably higher and expected to worsen over time.
• Infrastructure Damage: Extreme weather events can damage key infrastructure, including transportation, telecommunications, and power supply. This damage, often overlooked in government statistics, causes widespread disruptions and exacerbates the disaster’s impact.

Measures to Enhance Resilience

• Disaster Management Plans: All infrastructure sectors must have disaster management plans. For instance, hospitals in disaster-prone areas are installing backup power supplies, while airports and railways are taking steps to prevent or quickly drain waterlogging.
• Telecommunications networks are being moved underground.
• Assessment by CDRI: The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) assessed the power transmission and distribution infrastructure in Odisha, a cyclone-prone state, finding it highly unstable.
• Role of CDRI: Founded in 2019, CDRI aims to make vital infrastructure resilient to natural disasters and is evolving into a knowledge hub for implementing these transformations.
• Cost-effective Implementation: It is significantly easier and less expensive to incorporate disaster resilience during the construction process than to retrofit these features later.
• Climate-smart Infrastructure: All new infrastructure projects must be climate-smart, focusing on sustainability, energy efficiency, and disaster resilience.
• Developing Resilient Templates: India must create templates for resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding multiple hazards.

Conclusion

• In summary, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change significantly impact India’s essential infrastructure, including power systems, telecommunications, and transportation. To mitigate these challenges, it is crucial to implement comprehensive disaster management plans, develop climate-smart infrastructure, and leverage international collaborations like the CDRI.
• By focusing on resilience during the construction phase and creating robust templates, India can ensure that its infrastructure withstands the growing threats posed by climate change.