Climate Change

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, 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)
July 29, 2022 New study from the University of East Anglia challenges the widely held view that restoring areas such as mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass can remove large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
Mediterranean seagrass (Image: David Luquet, CNRS-Sorbonne University)
July 10, 2022 People in India fleeing disasters like drought more likely to have experienced trafficking or modern slavery than those fleeing floods or cyclones
The country's climate change assessment suggests things are only going to get worse (Image: Saurav Karmakar, India Water Portal Flickr)
July 8, 2022 Indian rivers are experiencing rising temperatures, which can lower the oxygen carrying capacity of their waters and spell doom for living organisms, small and large living in the waters.
The Karamana river in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala (Image Source: India Water Portal)
June 15, 2022 The River Front Development project planned by the PMC is nothing but a cosmetic makeover for the already choked Mula Mutha river in Pune, argues Dr Gurudas Nulkar while speaking to the India Water Portal.
The highly polluted and encroached Mula Mutha river in Pune (Image: Alexey Komarov via Wikimedia Commons)
New centre to help farmers become climate resilient
The centre will focus on real-time structured surveillance for insect-pests and diseases using GPS-tagging techniques. Posted on 20 Oct, 2018 02:28 PM

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has established a centre of excellence on climate change research for plant protection at the Hyderabad-based International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

The centre will provide advanced information and tools to increase farmer resilience to climate change. (Photo: IWP flickr photos)
Cyclone Titli hits Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
News this week Posted on 16 Oct, 2018 12:38 PM

Cyclone Titli devastates Odisha and Andhra Pradesh

A file photo shows a severe cyclonic storm in progress. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
India's first soil moisture map out
News this week Posted on 10 Oct, 2018 11:37 AM

India gets its first soil moisture map developed using hydrological model

Soil moisture plays an important role in agriculture. (Source: IWP Flickr photo)
Global warming impacts on India to be huge
The latest report from the UN's climate change panel says that world is already witnessing the consequences of one-degree global warming. Posted on 09 Oct, 2018 04:25 PM

The latest report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), formally released on Monday, warns that global warming is occurring faster than anticipated and that it can have devastating impacts if steps are not taken to cut down emissions. 

Extreme weather events like floods indicate climate change. (Photo: IWP flickr photos)
Glacial lake keeps disaster managers on toes in Sikkim
An experiment to siphon off water from glacial lakes to avoid floods from lake outbursts may soon prove to be successful. Posted on 02 Oct, 2018 12:30 PM

Disasters managers and scientists in Sikkim are keeping a close watch on a lake formed due to the melting of glaciers to see how successful is an experiment they began two years back to siphon off excess water from the lake to prevent it from bursting.

South Lhonak lake (Pic by ISW)
Kerala floods and after
The reason behind Kerala floods is a lot more than what the CWC wants us to believe. Posted on 27 Sep, 2018 05:11 PM

Every time there is a huge flood in India with massive loss of lives and extensive physical damage, there is a hue and cry. Especially, if this takes place in an area not normally prone to such floods. Assam and Bihar, for instance, are regularly laid waste by floods and so, there is not much agitation over that anymore.

The floods in Kerala have taken nearly 400 lives and have displaced around 1.2 million people. (Image: Ranjith Siji via Wikimedia Commons)
Is it drought after flood for Kerala?
Kerala has begun to see the result of years of environmental neglect and mindless exploitation of natural resources. Posted on 22 Sep, 2018 02:33 PM

If the devastating floods were not enough, the state of Kerala is witnessing further signs of environmental neglect and greedy exploitation of natural resources. There has been a drop in the water level, particularly in those rivers which were flooded recently. It is also reflected in the drying and caving of wells in different parts of the state.

A house flooded during the recent floods in Kerala. (Photo courtesy: Smibinozone via Wikimedia Commons)
Linking weather extremes with climate change
Detection and attribution in case of extreme weather events play an important role in understanding climate change better. Posted on 17 Sep, 2018 10:40 AM

Every time an extreme weather event like the Kerala floods occurs, there is a great demand for information on its causes. The question uppermost in public discourse is if such events can be attributed to climate change and global warming.

Whether an extreme weather event can be attributed to climate change or not is a question that has been on the minds of scientists for long. (Photo: IWP Flickr photos)
Dealing with disasters in the Valley
Frequent disasters the Kashmir Valley witnesses are both man-made and natural. What’s the solution? Posted on 10 Sep, 2018 11:57 AM

Witnessing a multitude of disasters from destructive floods to catastrophic earthquakes, the vulnerabilities arising out of natural disasters are ever increasing in Jammu and Kashmir.

Destruction caused by September 2014 floods at a posh locality in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajbagh. Over 300 people lost their lives, thousands were rendered homeless and property worth billions was damaged during the floods. (All photos courtesy: Afsana Rashid)
More water for crops
Subsidies given for irrigation efficiency may have a negative impact on water use. Posted on 06 Sep, 2018 02:44 PM

A new study has pointed out that increased irrigation efficiency does not translate to more water availability for other uses at the watershed level. The subsidies for increasing irrigation efficiency are intended to increase crop production as well as more return flow from irrigated areas that can be allocated to urban, domestic and industrial uses.

Subsidies for irrigation efficiency lead to a decrease in water availability at the watershed level because of increased irrigated areas and water withdrawals. (Pic: IWP Flickr photos)
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