Rainfall and other forms of Precipitation

Featured Articles
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)
Rainwater harvesting basics: How to direct roof top rainwater into the sump
This page provides you with the basics of how to direct the roof rainwater into the sump for effective storage Posted on 19 Aug, 2009 10:00 AM

Overview

Toolkit on rainwater harvesting: Basics, overview and related technologies
Learn the basics of rainwater catchment systems, components, collection for domestic water supply and the socio-economic as well as health aspects Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 04:25 PM

Rainwater harvesting is an option which has been adopted in many areas of the world where conventional water supply systems have failed to meet the needs of the people. Examples of RWH systems can be found in all the great civilisations throughout history.

Here's an eToolkit on rainwater harvesting that tells you all that you need to know to harvest rain successfully.

Rainwater harvesting basics: All you need to know about recharge pits
A recharge pit allows the rainwater to replenish groundwater by recharging the underground aquifers. It can be built to recharge a borewell or just to help the water infiltration in an area. Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 04:09 PM

1) Overview:

How to construct a rainwater tank: A comprehensive design and performance guide
The guide gives a detailed overview about the design aspects, different types of systems, costing, performance, water quality and regulatory issues of rainwater tanks Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 04:06 PM

Water Sensitive Urban Design in the Sydney Region has come out with a comprehensive brochure which details out the system overview, design, costing and water quality issues in the construction of rainwater tanks

Click here to download the guide

Map: Annual average rainfall of India
The annual rainfall map of India indicating the volume of rain different regions in the country receive Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 03:57 PM

Over a range of under 20cm to over 800cm, these two maps, give an idea of the average rainfall received by different regions in the country.

The lowest rainfall receiving areas are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Uttar Pradesh, parts of Haryana and Punjab, and the central peninsular region of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

River basin and sub-basin map of India from the Central Ground Water Board
The Central Groundwater Board have come out with watershed and basin-wise maps for the entire country. Here's an introduction and the link to the resource Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 01:04 PM

Watersheds are natural hydrological entities that cover a specific aerial expanse of land surface from which the rainfall runoff flows to a defined drain, channel, stream or river at any particular point. The terms region, basin, catchment, watershed etc are widely used to denote hydrological units.

All you need to know about rain barrels: Stepwise preparation and construction guide
Using a rain barrel is the easiest way to begin rainwater harvesting. Rain barrel serves as a storage unit for rooftop rainwater. It can collect a substantial amount of rainwater. Posted on 18 Aug, 2009 12:51 PM

Overview

In Bangalore, for example, for an annual rainfall of 900mm over 60 rainy days and a roof area of 50 sq.m.

River systems of Karnataka: Overview of the state's river systems and irrigation patterns
The page has information on the tributaries, catchment area and drainage patterns of the many rivers in the state
Posted on 14 Aug, 2009 03:19 PM

The Water Resources Department of Karnataka has a lot of relevant information on the river systems in Karnataka, irrigation, water resource development projects in Karnataka, notifications and orders, performance budgeting and allocation.

BCIL surveys the citizens of Bangalore to learn about their water conservation practices
Water survey of the citizens of Bangalore conducted by Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd. Posted on 14 Aug, 2009 12:25 PM

Here's a list of resources relating to the water survey conducted in the city of Bangalore

District-wise report of habitations covered in Himachal Pradesh for water supply and irrigation
A complete list of district wise data on irrigation, water supply, hand pumps distribution and progress of Command Area Development programme in the state of Himachal Pradesh Posted on 14 Aug, 2009 12:19 PM

District-wise report of habitations covered for water supply, hand pumps, irrigation, flood control and command area development

Read more

×