Rainfall and other forms of Precipitation

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September 13, 2022 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)
March 29, 2022 The intensity and duration of heat waves is predicted to increase in India and human induced anthropogenic changes are to blame.
A man sits under the scorching heat of the sun in front of Amer fort in Jaipur (Picture courtesy: Prabhu B Doss, Flickr Commons: CC-By-NC-ND-2.0)
February 10, 2022 47% of India’s population is vulnerable to floods, says IMD's Climate Hazards Atlas
(Image: J Surya, CC-SA-4.0 International)
July 4, 2021 A study finds that while forests existed in peninsular India, they were replaced by savanna grasslands over time. And the weakening monsoon was the culprit!
Savanna grasslands at Nannaj Bustard Sanctuary, Solapur, Maharashtra (Image Source: Raju Kasambe via Wikimedia Commons)
June 30, 2021 Climate analysis predicts mismatch in rainfall and temperature patterns with crop phenology: Soybean, Cotton, Wheat and Gram crops at risk, finds Institute for Sustainable Communities study across three major regions of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra faces an increasing risk from climate change which is likely to impact the production of four major crops - Soybean, Cotton, Wheat and Gram.  (Image: BAIF Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
December 13, 2019 A study highlights the need to scale down the export of rice, maize, buffalo meat and other items to conserve groundwater in India.
A farmer uses a hosepipe to irrigate crops at her farm in Nilgiris mountains, Tamil Nadu (Image: Hamish John Appleby for IWMI, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Groundwater resources race against time
Development and urbanisation have already put pressure on groundwater resources in the fragile Himalayan region. So, what is the current status of groundwater resources of this unique region? Posted on 21 Feb, 2015 12:36 PM

The Himalayas, an important part of the geography of India, extend along the entire Northern and North-Eastern boundary of the country. It spans six Indian States namely, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Sikkim and a major part of Arunachal Pradesh from west to east.

A view of the majestic Himalayas
Mazhapolima: Recharging open wells in Kerala
The science behind Mazhapolima is perhaps best suited for Kerala’s context but it has truly created opportunities for people to participate in a movement. Here's a look at how it has worked there. Posted on 16 Feb, 2015 10:10 PM

Mazhapolima is an open well recharge programme based on rainwater harvesting in Kerala.

Mazhapolima Wells (Source:IWP)
RWH: A tale of two successful states
Rainwater harvesting is a cost effective solution to bridge the gap between water availability and demand. Jodhpur and Goa, areas with low and high rainfall, have shown how. Posted on 16 Feb, 2015 09:11 PM

As the race to bridge the gap between limited water availability and increasing demand for water narrows in India, rain water harvesting has been increasingly recommended in urban areas to harness the available water, rather than relying on expensive and unsustainable means of procuring water.  

Urban Rainwater Harvesting
Climate change: Slow it down or deal with it?
Climate change is for real and there are two responses – mitigation or adaptation. What does the Union Budget need to do about climate change adaptation? Posted on 15 Feb, 2015 02:38 PM

Should the next Union Budget go all-in on climate change? Should clean energy, state incentives, mitigation and adaptation all emerge as priorities? How will the administration deal with extreme weather events that become more common with climate change?

Climate change adaptation (Source: VSK, Palamau)
Norms violated for Ken-Betwa river link's public hearing: Activists
News this week Posted on 12 Jan, 2015 11:01 PM

Activists say that the villagers were informed late for the public hearing of the Ken-Betwa river link

People's public hearing
Science-based changes to cope with water crisis
A business-as-usual approach isn't enough to bridge the gap between water supply and demand. So what must water management policies focus on to cope with the water crisis in India? Posted on 09 Jan, 2015 08:35 AM

India has almost 17% of the world's population and 4% of the global water resources – a situation that threatens to push it towards a water crisis in the coming years. To add to this, are other reasons such as:

Girls carrying water (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Porous pavements to save concrete jungles!
Cities may not be able to lessen their 'concrete footprint', which prevents groundwater from entering the soil but maybe more city spaces can use porous surfacing to deal with this problem. Posted on 08 Jan, 2015 10:20 PM

Despite its shrinking greens, Delhi has significant tree diversity. Pradip Krishen, a naturalist, author and filmmaker, identifies around 250 tree species in the concrete jungle, in his book titled ‘Trees of Delhi’ published in 2007. But these trees do not have the breathing room they need as the Public Works Department's (PWD) pavement tiling projects enclose trees completely in concrete.

Porous tiles act as flood absorbers in the city
Water news: A recap of 2014
Water made big news in 2014 with the formation of the new Water Ministry, initiation of the Swachh Bharat Mission, disasters due to erratic weather, and several scientific achievements. Posted on 05 Jan, 2015 09:58 PM

New Water Ministry, Clean Ganga Portal, Ganga Manthan: Goverment makes efforts towards rejuvenating the Ganga

Sunset at Gadmukhteshwar
Droughts in Maharashtra: Lack of management or vagaries of climate change?
None of our policies seem to be designed keeping in mind the farmer and his convenience, says Suneel Joshi, State Coordinator for Jal Biradari, in an interview with India Water Portal. Posted on 18 Dec, 2014 08:24 AM

Recent news has been flooded with reports of the severe drought situation in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra. Even more shocking are the reports of large-scale suicides by farmers due to crop losses.

Severe droughts (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Doing', rather than 'talking' water
Students at Nehru Memorial Museum & Library were engaged in an interactive session on different aspects of water including learning how much (or little!) water there is for our consumption. Posted on 16 Dec, 2014 10:35 PM

Every school going child knows that the earth is called the Blue Planet, because nearly 70% of its surface is covered with water. All pictures of the earth show a blue green earth, dotted by land masses. So how would we explain the idea of water scarcity to them?

Water poster competition at the NMML session
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