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)
Cyclone Daye triggers widespread rain
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 25 Sep, 2018 06:02 PM

Cyclone causes rain in 18 states; floods, landslides reported in North India
Monsoon affects life in North India. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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.
K.G.Vyas
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)
India has 45 critically polluted river stretches: CPCB
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 19 Sep, 2018 01:47 PM

Polluted river stretches increases to 351, as against 302 in 2015
Solid waste on the banks of the Mithi river. (Image source: Rohit Sharma, Arpita Bhagat)
Linking weather extremes with climate change
Detection and attribution in case of extreme weather events play an important role in understanding climate change better.
Raghu Murtugudde
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)
Monsoon takes 1400 lives
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 05 Sep, 2018 05:55 AM

More than 1000 people dead in three months in India due to heavy rains
A man wades through knee-deep water with his belongings during flood. (Source: 101Reporters)
Kerala, TN fight over Mullaperiyar dam water release
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 29 Aug, 2018 11:45 AM

Kerala blames Tamil Nadu for massive floods in the state
The Mullaperiyar dam (Source: Jayeshj via Wikipedia Commons)
Himalayan springs drying up: Niti Ayog
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 29 Aug, 2018 09:43 AM

Nearly 30 percent of springs in the Himalayas are drying up: Niti Ayog
Many springs in the Himalayas have reduced discharge. (Source: India Water Portal)
Kerala battles the worst flood since 1924
As Kerala comes to grips with the worst floods in its recent history, here’s a look at what led to the calamity and what can be done to avoid it in the future.
Amita Bhaduri
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 25 Aug, 2018 05:34 PM

When the five overflow gates of the Cheruthoni dam, a part of the Idukki reservoir comprising Cheruthoni, Kulamavu and Idukki arch dam were opened one by one on August 9, 2018, a torrent of water and mud gushed out. Heavy, unceasing rains had led to the dam reaching close to its maximum capacity, forcing the dam authorities to open all its gates.
The floods in Kerala have taken nearly 400 lives and have displaced around 1.2 million people. (Image: Ranjith Siji, Wikimedia Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0)
Centre calls Kerala floods a 'calamity of severe nature'
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 Aug, 2018 09:00 AM

Kerala floods: Death toll rises to 373
A house submerged in water during floods in Kerala. (Source: Ranjithsiji via Wikimedia commons)
Desertification: Not just a North Indian problem
A new study finds that manmade activities such as deforestation and mining are to blame for the rise in desertification in the south of India.
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 16 Aug, 2018 10:30 AM

India is highly vulnerable to desertification.
Increasing desertification is a challenge India needs to tackle. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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