New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- India's contribution to global warming stood at about 0.047 to 0.05 degrees Celsius by 2024, placing it below the United States, China, the European Union and Russia, but above several other industrialised and emerging economies, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Research Communications.

The US was the largest contributor among the countries examined, accounting for about 0.27 degrees Celsius of warming, followed by China at 0.19 degrees Celsius. The European Union contributed 0.17 degrees Celsius, while Russia's contribution was estimated at 0.07 to 0.08 degrees Celsius.

India's contribution was higher than that of the UK, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Australia and South Africa, the researchers said.

The study by VK Patel of Cranfield University in the UK and PA Taksal of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, calculated India's annual contribution to present-day warming from 1750 to 2024. The researchers also assessed contributions from major emitters and countries, including Brazil, the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Much of India's contribution has occurred in recent decades, with the sharpest rise recorded after 1990, the researchers said. The increase has been driven mainly by carbon dioxide emissions linked to fossil fuel use in the energy sector.

Agriculture is the main source of India's non-carbon dioxide warming, with methane and nitrous oxide together accounting for about one-third to two-fifths of the country's total contribution. The researchers described India's emissions profile as more multi-gas in nature than that of many early industrialised emitters.

The study noted that estimating national contributions helps show how emissions accumulated over time have shaped global temperature change. It said understanding India's contribution across sectors and greenhouse gases could provide context for future mitigation policies, particularly as recent emissions growth has increased the importance of decarbonising the energy system.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.