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)
Northeastern states witness highest rates of desertification
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Sep, 2021 09:35 PM

Desertification is accelerating in several northeastern Indian states
Loss of green cover is increasing in the country (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
India leads Asian countries in enacting the Plastics Pact
Policy matters this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Sep, 2021 09:41 AM

In launching its Plastics Pact, India becomes the first Asian country to do so
Different types of plastic waste (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
India now has 46 Ramsar sites as four new wetlands add to the list
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 11 Aug, 2021 12:13 PM

Four more wetlands get the Ramsar tag
Wetlands are an essential component of our ecosystem (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
IPCC: Net zero plans needed if we are to stop warming
A 1.5 degree celsius warming is likely even before 2040. IPCC report calls for immediate cuts on global greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Trends
Posted on 09 Aug, 2021 05:02 PM

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met virtually to consider the contribution of Working Group 1 (WG1) to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), for two weeks from 26th July to 6th August, 2021.
India will face irreversible impacts of climate crisis, says IPCC report (Image: Pixabay)
Floods and recurring natural disasters in India
Better regulation of environmentally sensitive areas is needed to avert disasters.
Gurinder Kaur
Posted on 04 Aug, 2021 09:59 AM

After two weeks of extremely hot and long dry weather, the monsoon winds brought heavy rains to the hilly northern states of India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand) and the south-west coastal states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, and Kerala).
Floods in Uttarkashi (Image: Oxfam International; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Dams and floods
Do dams worsen floods? These videos by Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation highlight the role of dams in controlling floods and the emerging challenges to flood management in India.
Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation
Posted on 26 Jul, 2021 09:55 PM

What are floods, why do we have floods at all?
Hirakud, India's oldest dam (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Understanding floods to prevent them!
While floods are a normal part of the river ecology, can their impacts be minimised by understanding them better and changing our current practices?
Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation
Posted on 23 Jul, 2021 09:20 AM

What are floods, why do we have floods at all?
Flooding in cities is getting common in India! (Image Source: IWP flickr photos)
Living with droughts
Special report on drought calls for new management approach
UNDRR
Posted on 20 Jun, 2021 11:02 AM

As per a Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Special Report on Drought 2021, released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UND
Drought resilience partnerships at the national and local levels will be critical to managing drought (Image: Pixabay; hbieser)
Floods, a boon or a bane?
News on floods often triggers panic and dread in the minds of the people. But, was this always so? Are floods something to be dreaded? Our ancestors did not think so! So why have they become so destructive now?
Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation
Posted on 09 Jun, 2021 05:40 PM

What are floods, why do we have floods at all?
Floods, a boon or a bane (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Irrigation from thin air
A super-absorbent gel could help the world's drought-hit farmers
Mark Newton
RESET
Posted on 06 Jun, 2021 07:44 PM

A new development from a US university - a gel that can absorb water from humidity in the air, before releasing it back into the soil - could help farmers struggling to cope with the effects of drought.
The water-absorbing gel has performed well under lab conditions. (Image: IWMI Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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