Climate and Weather

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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)
Mitigating the potential unintended impacts of water harvesting - A WHiRL Research Report
Water balance studies in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have shown that water harvesting programmes impact significantly on patterns of water use and that this can result in distinct winners and losers. Posted on 20 Oct, 2010 07:28 AM

This report under the WHiRL research project by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) identifies the potential unintended impacts of water harvesting so that, if at all possible they are avoided altogether, but if these do occur, they are recognised at an early stage and steps are taken to mitigate their affects. It highlights evidence that is emerging about water harvesting in semi-arid areas, on how water if used inappropriately, can lead to inequitable access to water resources and, in the extreme, to unreliable drinking water supplies.

Floods, Rains - News Roundup (7-14 October 2010)
The new round up for the week ending 14 October 2010, indicates that the flood situation in the North East has worsened and attempts are being made at flood management.
Posted on 15 Oct, 2010 02:37 PM

The latest news indicates that the monsoons and the flood situation has receded in most parts of India except in the North East where Manipur valley continues to suffer from incessant rains and flooding with attempts being started at flood management.

Extreme water logging and flood situation in channelized areas in Pune - A report
Nallahs and rainwater is good news. Not for Pune. 10 people lose their lives while the city administration neglects the maintenance of the near-natural channel system Pune enjoys. Posted on 13 Oct, 2010 04:32 PM

Guest post by Parineeta Dandekar


While this news item was about to be published, Pune received heavy rains on the 4th of October (highest in the last 118 years, 104 mm in 40 minutes and 181.3 mm in 24 hours). While the city administration stressed that this was a cloud burst, this claim was quashed by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). This was said to a rare event, which was experienced in many places in Maharashtra.

10 people lost their lives to these rains, including three young children and a 25 year old Ph D researcher, Agnimitra Bannerjee, from National Chemical Laboratory, who was washed away in a channelised nallah stretch. Channels prove to be much more dangerous as the velocity of water is high and there is nothing to hold on to, in case a person falls in one of these fast-flowing nallah channels.

National Water Mission - National Action Plan on Climate Change - Volume I and II - Ministry of Water Resources (2009,2008)
This comprehensive mission document by the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) highlights the objective of the National Water Mission, which is to conserve water through minimising wastage and ensuring equitable distribution of water across and within states through integrated water resources development and management. The document is presented in two volumes. Posted on 11 Oct, 2010 03:20 PM


Volume I is divided into six chapters and includes:

Chapter 1: Provides a brief introduction on the background of the National Water Mission in the context of the threat of climatic change and its impact on reduction in the water resources in the country.

Chapter 2: Describes the objectives or features of the National Water Mission

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) - Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change (2008)
This document published by the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change (Government of India), aims at creating awareness among the representatives of the public, different agencies of the government, scientists, industry and the community as a whole, on the threat posed by climate change and the steps proposed at the level of India to counter these changes. Posted on 11 Oct, 2010 03:01 PM

The  document is guided by the following principles:

Floods, Rains - News Roundup (1-7 October 2010)
News reports on the monsoon indicate heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Posted on 08 Oct, 2010 02:34 PM

Recent reports on the monsoon and the flood situation indicate that the rainfall has receded from northern India and has shifted to the south of India. Reports indicate heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Reports also indicate that India’s 16-week monsoon period has ended last week and the meteorological department has confirmed of 102% than normal rainfall. Inspite of the floods and the problems associated with it, reports also indicate positive news that the heavy rainfall has helped to recharge lakes and water bodies in different parts of India and may see a positive impact on agriculture in the coming days.

Floods - News Roundup (24-30 September 2010)
Flood fury in different parts of North India and improvement in the situation in a few areas. This and more stories in the news roundup Posted on 01 Oct, 2010 12:07 PM
  • The news earlier in the week still reports of flood fury in different parts of North India such as Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Agra. However, in the later part of the week, the flood situation seems to be easing in most parts of the North such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal except in Uttar Pradesh, especially western, where the situation still continues to be grim.
Water security vs national security published in Third Concept September 2010 : Countries that share a river face a higher probability of engaging in military disputes
Growing public and policy preoccupation worsens the impact on water security, especially with climate change impacts Posted on 28 Sep, 2010 10:15 AM

There has been growing public and policy preoccupation in recent years with potential climate impacts on water security in the wake of the worsening risk of global warming. In 1991, then–UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali pronounced that “the next war will be fought over water, not politics.” In 2001, Kofi Annan warned that “fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future.” And present UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has argued that the ongoing Darfur crisis grew at least in part from desertification, ecological degradation, and a scarcity of resources, foremost among them water. Apart from this chorus of concern, many policy scholars have asserted that, as population growth and economic development raise pressures on demand and environmental pressures degrade supplies, resource scarcities could precipitate violent international conflicts, with shared rivers an especially dangerous flashpoint.

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