The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report What’s in it for South Asia?

The document translates the global findings of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report into a regional context for South Asia, detailing observed warming, projected risks to food and water security, and the potential for low-carbon development. It emphasizes that while further warming is inevitable, integrated adaptation and mitigation can protect development gains and offer economic opportunities.

• South Asia has experienced warming across most of the region over the 20th century and into the 2000s, with an increase in the frequency of temperature extremes and hot days.
• Global mean sea level rise is projected to be between 2655 cm under a low-emissions scenario and 4582 cm for a high-emissions scenario by the end of the century, with a maximum of 98 cm possible by 2100.
• Key climate-related risks for South Asia include widespread damage to infrastructure, livelihoods, and settlements from riverine, coastal, and urban flooding, as well as heat-related mortality and drought-driven water and food shortages.
• Climate change is expected to exacerbate poverty in South Asia, with some countries like Bangladesh potentially experiencing a 15% increase in poverty by 2030.
• Agricultural productivity in South Asia is threatened, particularly wheat yields in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, which could fall by 50% due to heat stress.
• Adaptation in South Asia can be achieved through 'no-regrets' measures such as improving health services, diversifying cropping systems, and enhancing access to information and resources.
• The energy sector in Asia saw a 16.8-fold increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 1970 and 2010, with the highest growth rate of emissions globally between 2001 and 2010.
• Urban areas in South Asia are highly vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surges, with port cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, and Dhaka identified as being at the highest risk by the 2070s.
• Mitigation in the agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU) sector can be achieved through carbon sequestration, reducing emissions from livestock and synthetic fertilisers, and restoring degraded forests.
• International cooperation is essential to limit global warming to 2C, as current governmental pledges made at and since the 2010 Cancun meeting fall short of this goal.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2014). The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report What’s in it for South Asia? http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IPCC_AR5_CDKN_Whats_in_it_for_South_Asia_FULL.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report What’s in it for South Asia? 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IPCC_AR5_CDKN_Whats_in_it_for_South_Asia_FULL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report What’s in it for South Asia? |date=2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IPCC_AR5_CDKN_Whats_in_it_for_South_Asia_FULL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2014ipccs, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report What’s in it for South Asia?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IPCC_AR5_CDKN_Whats_in_it_for_South_Asia_FULL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }