Climate change will affect India first: Iain Stewart

Thiruvananthapuram: India is going to be one of the first countries to be affected by climate change, according to Iain Stewart, a Scottish geologist. Known for presenting several BBC series on earth science, he works as Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth – possibly the only professor in the world with that title. “India is one of the frontlines of climate change. The UK might see wetter winters, drier summers, one or two more storms. But the average people might not notice. In India, and sub-Saharan Africa, there will be massive changes in rainfall. That is why climate change is so contentious and political,” he says.

While talking about dramatic changes in monsoon, diseases caused by rise in temperature, crop failure and severe water scarcity, he also warns against fatalism. “Scientists can scare, but it doesn’t help. People go into panic and will not be able to prepare rationally,” he says. Iain Stewart was in Thiruvananthapuram to conduct a science communication workshop for participants of the British Council’s FameLab Science Communication Competition.

He had come to Kerala earlier too, to compare the ‘Karimeen’ of Kerala with a kind of fish in Madagascar. “It was to prove that India and Madagascar were once together. The geology of India fits with that of Africa. The fish is just an obvious surface example,” he says. While he is not a climate change skeptic, he says that a good scientist is always a skeptic.

“Scientists are used to thinking possibility and statistics. But the public, not so. Most scientists have learnt to say yes (regarding climate change), as people want binary, yes or no, to make a decision.” He hopes that climate change will push the world to make better choices, like renewable energy sources. “One should not get too depressed,” he says.