“The current global warming is modest and is not of any threat to humanity,” said Dr Madhav Khandekar, Environment Canada Expert Reviewer for the IPCC.

Pointing out to various graphs at a lecture on Extreme Weather, Monsoon Floods and the Uncertain Science of Global Warming, hosted by the Geological Society of India, he explained that climate change has been a natural phenomena for centuries and it is premature to blame climate changes on global warming.

“From the geological perspective, the earth has been warming and cooling for long periods. Severe droughts and floods happened even a hundred years ago. Let’s not rush in to say that climatic changes are due to human activity,” he said. “Temperatures are impacted by road, buildings, and heat produced from air conditioners. We do not take that into consideration when studies have shown that nearly 50% of increase in temperature is due to the urban impact.”

He also revealed that the present warming in Greenland is no more than what it was in the 1940s. “It was significantly warmer then, so I don’t expect sea levels to rise much.”

“We may be entering into a significantly colder era. That’s what we should worry about and not global warming. “Several low temperature and snow accumulation records have been broken in the last five years. Neither the IPCC nor climate change models offer any explanation for this,” he said. “There is a disconnect when we say that there is global warming while we have been witnessing some of the coldest winters.”

About the impact of variations in temperature on the agriculture industry, Dr Khandekar pointed out that the solution to the problem does not lie in mitigation, but in adapting to the climate changes. Chiranjeevi Singh, retired IAS officer, pointed out that the view from Canada, where Dr Khandekar lives, is optimistic. But for India increase in temperature is of concern.

“Previously the cyclic increase in temperature occurred when the world population was less than a billion. How the planet is going to sustain a current population of 6 billion is a problem. We are dealing with forces we do not fully understand and therefore it is better to be prepared for the worst,” he said.