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 grip of floods - yet again!
Floods are becoming the most frequently occurring extreme events leading to high deaths in India.
Kamaljit Ray
R.K. Giri
S.S. Ray
A.P. Dimri d
M. Rajeevan
Posted on 27 Nov, 2021 11:49 AM

The states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are in the news since the last few days because of the heavy rains that have left the region battered by flooding and water-logging at several places leading to reports of death, destruction and displacement of large

The floods in Kerala in 2018 (Image: Ranjith Siji, Wikimedia Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0)
Will flash droughts affect India?
Flash droughts in India pose challenges for water management during the summer monsoon
Jordan I Christian
Jeffrey B Basara
Eric D Hunt
Jason A Otkin
Jason C Furtado
Vimal Mishra
Xiangming Xiao
Robb M Randall
Posted on 25 Nov, 2021 01:25 PM

Flash drought is a critical sub-seasonal phenomenon characterized by a period of rapid drought intensification. It exhibits multifaceted challenges to agriculture, water resources, ecosystems, and the human environment.

Flash drought is sometimes also defined as a rapidly developing drought event. (Image: Pushkar RV)
Managing disasters in the hills
Need to enable communities to be the first responders in case of a disaster
Baber Nafice
Posted on 24 Nov, 2021 06:59 PM

Just like another day, the mountainous village of Honzar in Dachhan Tehsil in Kishtwar district in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was approaching dawn when the entire village was hit by a deadly cloudburst around four in the morning on July 28
It is at the community level that the effects of disasters are felt the most (Image: Baber Nafice)
First digital flood inventory (IFI) in geospatial format created for India
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 Nov, 2021 06:56 PM

India’s first digital flood inventory (IFI) in modern geospatial format created
First digital flood inventory (IFI) in geospatial format created (Image source: IWP Flickr Photos). Image for representation only
Increase in extreme flooding events in the Upper Ganga Basin post 1995
Upstream hydrological modifications altered the basin hydrology, says study
Somil Swarnkar
Pradeep Mujumdar
Rajiv Sinha
Posted on 21 Nov, 2021 04:57 PM

Climate change and anthropogenic activities pose serious threats to river basin hydrology worldwide. The Ganga River is the lifeline for close to half a billion people in the northern Indian region.
Kathiya Gaon, Tehri, Uttaranchal (Image: India Water Portal)
Improving access to climate finance critical
India must collaborate with other countries to create a Global Resilience Reserve Fund to act as insurance against climate shocks: CEEW study.
Abinash Mohanty
Shreya Wadhawan
Council on Energy
Council on Energy Environment and Water
Posted on 04 Nov, 2021 10:32 AM

More than 80% cent Indians live in climate-vulnerable districts, according to a recently released report ‘
Bihar floods of 2008 (Image: M Asokan, Public Resource.org)
Four major rivers in Uttarakhand change course after heavy rains
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Nov, 2021 02:06 PM

After heavy rains, four major rivers change course in Uttarakhand
A river in Uttarakhand (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
Uttarakhand floods, a marker of climate change
Flash flood fury in Uttarakhand, a classic example of extended stay of monsoon
Climate Trends
Posted on 26 Oct, 2021 10:18 AM

Extreme weather events are not new to the country; however, the increasing frequency of these events are. All thanks to climate change, which has been altering weather patterns across India.
Floods in Uttarkashi, India. June 2013 (Image: Oxfam International)
Urgent action needed to embrace integrated water and climate policies
Asia suffered the highest economic losses from both floods and droughts compared to other regions in the last 50 years, says a report by the World Meteorological Organization.
World Meteorological Organization
Posted on 12 Oct, 2021 11:31 AM

Water-related hazards like floods and droughts are increasing because of climate change.
Buildings and roads washed away, floods in Uttarkashi (Image: Oxfam International)
300 organisations from across the globe call for no climate finance for hydropower
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 06 Oct, 2021 10:06 PM

Hydropower is not fit for climate finance according to 300 organisations worldwide
Gambhir dam near Ujjain (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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