Climate Change

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November 6, 2022
Protecting children from climate change impact not child's play
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
India’s rivers in trouble due to high fertilizer load and heavy monsoons
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
Carbon removal using ‘blue carbon’ habitats “uncertain and unreliable”
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
Slow onset climate-induced disasters leaving migrants at greater risk of human trafficking
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
Warming waters will lead to gasping rivers in India
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
Damned by pollution, doomed by beautification
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)
At home, in the wetland
Not just a site of global importance for migratory birds, Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary is home to diverse creatures that depend on it for food, shelter and livelihood.
Sabita Kaushal
Posted on 10 Nov, 2016 10:01 PM

Long necked, rosy white birds with heavy pink bills stand etched across the horizon. These are the flamingos that fly miles from across Iran’s Caspian Sea and the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, to reach the inland waters of Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
Flamingoes fly miles to reach Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu.
Angry, swirling waters
When the twisted model of Uttarakhand’s development goes wrong, a river lashes out killing many. A new book tries to shed light on what went wrong to cause the great Kedarnath disaster.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 07 Nov, 2016 09:55 PM

“The gravity of the Kedarnath disaster in June 2013, which killed thousands of people, shocked the public almost to the point of numbness”... begins the forward by Bill Aitken in Hridayesh Joshi’s account of the disaster Rage of the river: The untold story of the Kedarnath disaster. It’s a sentence which will whirl in your mind while you read Joshi’s book.
Gori floods (Source: Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal)
MGNREGA facing fund crunch
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 07 Nov, 2016 09:30 AM

More fund over the budgetary allocation sought for MGNREGA
Labourers build check dams under MGNREGA. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Himalayan Climate Meet 2016
The conference aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary research focusing on the human dimensions of development, climate change and carbon management.
Posted on 03 Nov, 2016 07:34 PM

Government College of Chamba has organised the Himalayan Climate Meet 2016, an "International Conference Focusing on “Human Dimension of Development, Climate Change and Carbon Management”. 

The focuses on the human dimensions are on:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Wetlands
What are wetlands and why are they so important? A simple Q&A answers pertinent questions related to wetlands in India.
Sabita Kaushal
Posted on 21 Oct, 2016 06:27 AM

This is a simple guide that lists out the most popular questions related to wetlands, to understand what they are and their importance a little better. Please click on a topic for detailed information 
Maguri Beel, a wetland area in the Tinsukia district of Upper Assam.
Call for Applications: HI-AWARE Academy for Doctoral Students
A training programme which aims to create an interdisciplinary network of PhD students and senior scholars in ‘Water and Adaptation Studies’ in the South Asian region.
Posted on 26 Sep, 2016 11:17 AM

About the HI-AWARE Academy
Majuli: A hungry river and a succumbing island
Erosion in Majuli, a large island on the Brahmaputra, has left scores of people bereft of livelihoods and hope. While the government has spent crores on anti-erosion measures, it hasn't helped much.
Usha Dewani Das
Posted on 24 Sep, 2016 08:30 PM

Brahmaputra is the highest siltation-carrying river in the world, and controlling erosion is not easy. Because of its characteristics, it does not have a parallel with any other river in the world. Mythologically also, the Brahmaputra has always been a disturbed river, highly meandering, says Gunajeet Kashyap (ACS), Election Officer, Majuli.
A boatman looks at the vast and furious Brahmaputra
Cauvery row: When source is the cause
Karnataka and TN are sparring over the dwindling Cauvery water. Kodagu, where the Cauvery begins its journey, is witnessing landscape changes which is impacting the water inflow to the river.
Manu Moudgil
Posted on 17 Sep, 2016 09:27 PM

Even as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu fight over their rights on Cauvery water, not much thought has gone into the place where the river originates. Kodagu district, earlier known as Coorg, lies on the eastern slope of Western Ghats, a biological hotspot which is home to the Cauvery and is also the primary catchment area of the river.  
Cauvery river at Kodagu. Source: Rameshng/Wikimedia Commons
Power crisis: Time to go green
Hydro energy is a leading source of power in India. With severe water crisis looming large, isn't it time for us to look at renewable energy options?
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 08 Sep, 2016 06:33 PM

Despite the severe water management crisis India is going through, hydro energy continues to be the second leading source of power, next only to thermal-based energy in the country. Hydropower generates over 16 percent of India’s electricity.
Tehri, a hydropower dam in Uttarakhand (Source: Mayank Gupta, Wikimedia Commons)
Interlinking project needs reanalysis: IIT Study
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 16 Aug, 2016 09:53 AM

Not enough water available for interlinking rivers: IIT study 
Interlinking of rivers (Source: NIH)
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