Climate and Weather

Featured Articles
December 12, 2022 Study looks at behavioral biases in crop insurance adoption
Adoption rate of crop insurance low in India despite government efforts (Image: PxHere, CC0 Public Domain)
September 13, 2022 Heavy rains and floods have battered Bengaluru yet again. Uncontrolled and unregulated development and concretisation of the city that pays no heed to the ecology and hydrology of the region needs to stop!
Urban flooding in Bangalore (Image Source: Thejas via Wikimedia Commons)
August 11, 2022 This could lead to water quality crisis reinforcing the need for basin-specific management strategies
Around the world, more than a fifth of nitrogen released by human activity ends up in aquatic ecosystems (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
May 14, 2022 Climate change is real. What are its implications for India? This book presents a first of its kind national forecast on the impact of global warming on climate in India.
Climate change is real. What does it mean for India? (Image Source: Robert Hensley/Wikimedia Commons)
March 29, 2022 The intensity and duration of heat waves is predicted to increase in India and human induced anthropogenic changes are to blame.
A man sits under the scorching heat of the sun in front of Amer fort in Jaipur (Picture courtesy: Prabhu B Doss, Flickr Commons: CC-By-NC-ND-2.0)
Bangledesh's perspectives on Tipaimukh dam
This article by Md. Khalequzzaman deals with Bangladesh's position on the Tipaimukh dam. Posted on 18 Jan, 2012 11:33 PM

The Indian government and two other Indian authorities have signed an agreement on October 22, 2011 regarding construction of the Tipaimukh Dam.

Bhoomi conference 'Campaign for a Million Eco Projects', January 21 & 22, 2012, Bangalore
Posted on 17 Jan, 2012 04:24 PM

Organizers: Bhoomi Network for Sustainable Living

bhoomi

Description:
Bhoomi Network are happy to invite you for our Bhoomi Unconference on a theme that we can all focus on for a long long time - Campaign for a Million Eco Projects.

Cold wave in North India claims several lives, disrupting normal conditions, heavy snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir
Chicu presents an update on floods, disasters, extreme weather events (1 to 15 January 2012). Posted on 17 Jan, 2012 09:12 AM

A western disturbance caused a cold wave to sweep across the northern part of the country, claiming several lives and disrupting normal conditions. Reports of water pipes freezing, roads becoming unmotorable have come in from several parts of the country. This might affect crops this winter. 

satellite map of India showing the western disturbance

Hydropower in the Northeast: Potential and harnessing analysis - A critique
This paper was commissioned as an input to the study “Development and Growth in Northeast India: The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus” by the World Bank. Posted on 15 Jan, 2012 11:41 PM

The main objectives of the hydropower study are as follows: 

  • An analysis of the hydropower potential in the Northeast and key elements of the strategy that should be followed for optimal realization of this potential 
  • An overview of the hydropower development options in the Northeast with regard to the water resources in the different river basins, including consideration of flood control and irrigationmap of the north-eastern states

Map of the north-east states

River Yamuna - Dying by default or by design: A public lecture on river Yamuna
This presentation by Peace Institute Charitable Trust is part of a lecture organised by Toxics Link as part of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan and held at the India International centre in September 2007. Posted on 14 Jan, 2012 05:24 PM

It aims to inform, enlighten and suggest solutions to bring back the river Yamuna to a healthy and resilient state. 

slide showing factories on the banks of the Yamuna

Shades of blue: A symposium on emerging conflicts and challenges around water - Seminar magazine
Seminar magazine focused on a pertinent topic in October 2011, the issue titled 'Shades of blue' dealt with water conflicts and challenges in India. Posted on 10 Jan, 2012 07:53 PM

The problem

(as posed by Sunjoy Joshi, Director and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)

Environment Statistics – A compendium by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2011)
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has come up with a Compendium of Environment Statistics 2011, the twelfth edition of the series, which started in 1997. Posted on 07 Jan, 2012 04:25 PM

It broadly covers five core parameters, viz., biodiversity, atmosphere, land/soil, water and human settlements suggested by the Framework for Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) published by United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in 1984.

Examining the storm protection services of mangroves of Orissa during the 1999 cyclone – A special article in EPW
Mangroves are tropical and subtropical coastal forests that grow in inter-tidal saline areas and estuary mouths between the land and the sea. Posted on 06 Jan, 2012 11:03 PM

These ecosystems provide a bunch of direct and indirect services to humankind. This special article in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) by Saudamini Das examines whether the mangrove forests in Kendrapada district of Orissa played any protective role during the severe cyclone that hit the state in October 1999. 

Sustainable groundwater management – Report of the Working Group of the Planning Commission for the 12th Five Year Plan
This is the report on “Sustainable Groundwater Management” by the Working Group set up by the Planning Commission as a part of the process to prepare the 12th Five Year Plan. Posted on 06 Jan, 2012 04:27 PM

The existing methodology of groundwater resources assessment is appropriate and suitable for country-wide groundwater resources estimation, considering the present status of database available with the Central and State agencies.

Floods in Orissa: No lessons learnt – An article in EPW
This article on floods in Orissa shows how no lessons have been learnt yet. Posted on 06 Jan, 2012 02:26 PM

This article by Kishore C Samal in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) discusses how in the natural disater prone state of Orissa the authorities have not been able to draw up an effective disaster management plan and politicians continue to play politics with relief works. It argues that for dealing with these disasters and the relief and rehabilitation work that follows what is needed is the participation of the local community and functionaries of panchayati raj institutions, and coordination with national and international bodies.