Droughts and Floods

Featured Articles
December 12, 2022
Why farmers are not adopting crop insurance in India?
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)
October 30, 2022
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
September 13, 2022
Chaos in a concrete jungle
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 21, 2022
Floods – a boon than a bane!
Floods are not feared, but rather welcomed by the Mishing communities from Majuli island in Assam as they bring bountiful fish- a rich source of food, nutrition and livelihood for the community.
The Majuli island, a haven for fish (Image Source: Usha Dewani, India Water Portal)
August 10, 2022
Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present
The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 2, 2022
Floods in Assam - a boon or a bane for fish diversity?
The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
India, in the eye of a storm!
The incidence and intensity of tropical cyclonic storms during monsoons is increasing in India. Can historical analysis help understand and cope with them better?
Nair and Annadurai
Posted on 16 Jun, 2019 07:51 PM

A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016 (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Unravelling NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index: Veering to a pragmatic approach
An analysis of the effectiveness of the Composite Water Management Index as a policy-making tool
Kuhelika Ghosh
Praharsh M. Patel
Posted on 14 Jun, 2019 11:34 AM

INTRODUCTION
Image for representational purposes only. Image credit: India Water Portal
UNICEF lauds SBM for reducing groundwater contamination
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 12 Jun, 2019 12:09 PM

Swachh Bharat Mission reduced groundwater contamination: UNICEF
SBM reduced groundwater contamination in many villages. (Source: IWP via Flickr photos)
Food security with flood, drought-resistant rice crops
New drought and flood tolerant rice varieties can ease water constraints and ensure food security, study says.
Anchal Arora
Sangeeta Bansal
Patrick S Ward
Posted on 07 Jun, 2019 11:23 AM

In recent years, cycles of extreme drought and severe flooding have affected the country’s water availability and crop production. The trend can be attributed to climate change. Scientists have been exploring drought and flood tolerant crop varieties to offset stress conditions that significantly constrain rice production.
Determining the long-term effects of the flood-tolerant rice variety Swarna-Sub1. (Image: Centre for Effective Global Action)
Jal Shakti ministry formed to tackle water woes
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 04 Jun, 2019 09:34 PM

Jal Shakti ministry formed by merging water ministry and drinking water ministry
Cauvery river at Hogenakal, Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr Photos via Claire Arni and Oriole Henri)
Monsoon to arrive late, less rain expected: Skymet
The forecast shows monsoon to begin under the shadow of El Niño and could be below normal across all four regions.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 30 May, 2019 11:25 AM

Skies in several parts of Kerala are overcast with pre-monsoon but monsoon is progressing sluggishly, as per meteorological predictions. “This year’s monsoon rains will arrive on India southern coast in Kerala on June 4 and deliver less rain than average year,” says Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.
Monsoon in Sikkim Himalayas (Image: Marina, Wikimedia Commons, CC-A-2.0-Generic)
Anti-drought works unsatisfactory: Govt
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 29 May, 2019 11:04 AM

Nearly 790,000 anti-drought works under MGNREGA incomplete or abandoned
Labourers build check dams under MGNREGA. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Reservoir storage in western India below normal: CWC
CWC's latest data raises concern over water availability and the country's preparedness to deal with shortages in western India and parts of southern India.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 May, 2019 04:49 PM

The recent data from the Central Water Commission (CWC), released on May 9, 2019 reveals a reassuring situation of water storage in the river basins of India. The overall water storage in the 91 reservoirs monitored is slightly more (105 percent) when compared to the average water storage over the last 10 years, the data shows.
Mulshi dam reservoir in Maharashtra (Image: Rohit Gowaikar, Wikimedia Commons)
Drought advisory issued to western and southern states
Policy matter this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 May, 2019 11:30 AM

Centre issues drought advisory to six states
Centre issues drought advisory to six states (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Pre-monsoon rainfall deficient: IMD
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 May, 2019 11:14 AM

India witnesses 22 percent deficient pre-monsoon rainfall this year: IMD
Pre-monsoon rainfall deficient this year. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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