Climate scientist and IIT Delhi professor Krishna AchutaRao dies at 62

Krishna AchutaRao, an IIT Delhi professor who was one of the leading Indian scientists studying the impact of human contributions on extreme weather events, died on Friday. He had been ailing for some time and died at the age of 62.

A professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at the IIT, AchutaRao was known for his work on climate risk assessment and attribution science, which seeks to measure the contribution of human activities to individual extreme weather events.

He was closely associated with World Weather Attribution, a global network of scientists assessing most major extreme events across the world to quantify the extent of the human footprint on these events. The soft-spoken AchutaRao also contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-backed body of scientists that periodically carries out a global assessment of climate change.

Passionate about protecting marginalised and vulnerable communities against the adverse impacts of climate change, AchutaRao was instrumental in setting up the Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation at IIT Delhi.

He emphasised the interdisciplinary nature of climate science and pushed for strengthening the network of early warning systems in the country. He was also an avid science communicator, thanks to his ability to explain complex concepts simply.

"Krishna AchutaRao was a long-time friend and colleague in the climate-and-science space, and what brought me closer to him was his keen scientific temper, his extraordinary attention to detail, and above all, his sense of humour," climate scientist Roxy Koll Mathew said in a social media post.

His wife Mila Mitra is an astrophysicist and has worked with Nasa on several space projects. She is the co-founder and academic head of STEM & Space, an education company that works to popularise science, particularly space sciences, among schoolchildren.