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)
Go green this Van Mahotsava
The major cause of insufficient forest cover in India seems to be ruthless cutting of trees in the name of urbanization and development. Posted on 08 Jul, 2019 12:44 PM

Van Mahotsava is an annual tree planting festival which was initiated by Shri Kulapati Kanaiyalal Munshi, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food, Government of India, in 1950 to create awareness about the importance of trees and conservation of forests.

Chilepata core forest area in Buxa, Alipurduar district of West Bengal (Image: Tridib Choudhury, Wikimedia Commons, CC-SA 4.0 International)
Glacier melt threatens water reserves in Satluj basin
A new study finds that 55% of the glaciers in the Satluj basin could disappear by 2050 and 97% by 2090 due to climate change. Posted on 08 Jul, 2019 12:28 PM

River Satluj, the powerhouse of the Himalayas

The Sutlej, from Bilaspur (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
How can forecasting of extreme rainfall events be improved?
Greater precision in forecast of extreme events is critical. Posted on 05 Jul, 2019 12:00 AM

Mumbai, July 5 (India Science Wire): On July 2, the Maharashtra government decided to close private and public schools in Mumbai based on IMD’s rainfall forecast which predicted "intermittent rain in city and suburbs, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places for the next 24 hours." The 24-hour period from 8:30 am of July 1 to July 2 saw a total of 375 mm of rain and it

Villages under water which gushed in as Cyclone Aila struck south 24 Parganas. Image credit: Anil Gulati from IWP Flickr. Image used for representational purposes only.
Urbanization, changing cropping patterns contributing to temperature rise
Study shows land use changes responsible for higher temperatures Posted on 03 Jul, 2019 02:51 PM

New Delhi, July 3 (India Science Wire): Warming induced by changes in land use and land cover is contributing to rise in temperature in Eastern India, according to a new study. 

Image credit: Sourabh Phadke from India Water Portal on Flickr
Combating water crisis needs people's participation: PM Modi
News this week Posted on 03 Jul, 2019 01:06 AM

Prime Minister Modi pitches for a collective effort to overcome water crisis in the country

A rainwater harvesting set up in a school in Chickmangalur district (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Government launches Jal Shakti Abhiyan to tackle water crisis
Policy matters this week Posted on 02 Jul, 2019 04:59 PM

Centre launches Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Jal Shakti Abhiyan launched to battle water crisis (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
How millets can make India’s food basket climate-resilient
Study reveals millets can mitigate effects of climate change on rainfed agriculture, thus improving food security. Posted on 02 Jul, 2019 03:38 PM

New Delhi, July 1 (India Science Wire): Increasing temperatures, changing monsoon and more frequent extreme climate events are posing a threat to food security in India.

Millets. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Digging deeper to cope with droughts
A study finds that farmers in south India continue to rely on borewells rather than investing in water conservation structures or demand management strategies to cope with droughts. Posted on 01 Jul, 2019 09:14 PM

India is witnessing the second driest pre-monsoon season in the last 65 years. As the country eagerly eyes the monsoon clouds, the delay so far has now widened the rain deficit to 43%.

Coping with droughts, a challenge for farmers (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Economics of land degradation: India’s new environment targets
What are India's plans for managing its natural resources, undertaking sustainable land management and combating droughts? Posted on 28 Jun, 2019 09:38 AM

Managing natural resources, the sustainable way

Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar with representatives of UNCCD, IUCN and other panelists at the June 17th meeting. (Photo: DD News Hindi)
Temperatures in India becoming more extreme
A study found that intensification of croplands through replacement of forests can impact long term temperature trends. Posted on 26 Jun, 2019 03:51 PM

The frequency and severity of heatwaves have risen considerably in India. Our cities are facing periods of ‘extreme’ weather as urbanization continues to modify the landscape.

The stretch below the Koyna dam in Satara district looks parched at the end of the summer of 2014 as the reservoirs went dry (Image: Ashwin Arun Yadav, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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