Consular official calls for study on climate change, cities

Visakhapatnam, Mar 14 (UNI) The relationship between climate change and cities will be of vital importance to the future well being of humans this century, as majority of the world's population will be living in cities, Ms Eunice Crook, Director, British Council, Chennai said.

Speaking at a seminar yesterday on 'Contemporary environmental problems of urban areas', organised by the Association of British Scholars and Andhra University, she said study on climate change, specially how it is related to cities, needed more focus. This was because over 75 per cent of energy consumption was directly related to cities. In many cases cities were highly vulnerable to impact of climate change.

Stating that statistics of climate change were disturbing, she said industrialisation had led to increase in carbondioxide levels in the atmosphere by 31 per cent between 1750 and 2001. Though data was not readily available in the case of India, estimates suggested a phenomenal increase of carbondioxide levels here as well.

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