ALL construction activities along the banks of the river Ganga in Allahabad were brought to a halt last month. The Allahabad Development Authority (ADA) issued a moratorium in compliance with a state high court order to stop ongoing projects within 500 metres of the river’s highest flood level. The court …
The meteorological department records that some 60 mm of rain has fallen in just about 6 hours; 90 mm in 24 hours; and with this the city has made up for its deficit of rainfall this season. In other words, in just about 24 hours Delhi and its surrounding areas …
On many occasions monsoons have failed leading to droughts, but IMD did not predict them. Why? Our predictions for rainfall during droughts were wrong only in 2002 and 2004. Between 1988 and 2001, our forecast for normal monsoon was qualitatively correct. It is true that we were not correct on …
Each year, floods, to greater or lesser degree, affect about 7.5 million hectares in India, a little over two per cent of the country's surface area. What's more, over five times this area is considered prone to floods, caused when rivers breach their banks. But this year, and of late, …
Even as 96 dams in Gujarat were put on high alert following heavy rainfall on the evening of September 11, many of them were full to their capacities, including the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam in Kevadia. At least 7,000 people were evacuated in August and September from different parts of …
It has been six years since the July 26 deluge, but the fear of flood during monsoons still lingers among Mumbaikars. Especially among the residents of Mumbai’s western suburbs who have been facing severe waterlogging for the past six years. The city municipal corporation claims to be well prepared this …
A MEGADROUGHT in parts of Africa and Asia about 17,000 years ago led to mass migration of humans and animals. It is regarded as the most severe in the last 50,000 years. Rainfall in this drought-hit region is caused when winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge ne-ar the …
If all goes well, Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorological (IITM) will embark on an ambitious, five-year, Monsoon Mission programme. Revealing this during the course of his presentation at the Indian Meteorological Society, Pune chapter
MAJOR volcanic eruptions can disrupt rainfall patterns over the Asian monsoon region. A study has shown that big eruptions tend to dry up much of central Asia, but bring more rain to southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar—the opposite of what many climate models predict. Researchers at …
Towards earth system modelling for improving monsoon projections under changing climate by R. Krishnan, Centre for Climate Change Research, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune presented at the South Asian Media Briefing on Climate Change, CSE, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 24
This is a brief response to Sunita Narain's thought-provoking piece on the role of monsoon in our lives. As scientists actively involved in understanding the Indian monsoon and its prediction, we have attempted to elucidate what we know about this intriguing phenomenon, which is a tantalizing mixture of order and …
The cold wave in 2009 that led to the shutting down of Eurorail and flight delays in Europe and the US indicates an inverse relationship between technological advancement and vulnerability to natural elements. But Indian policymakers, by and large, hold economic growth and technological advancement as panacea to climate change. …
888.7 cm: total average rainfall till September 22 which is 4 per cent above normal 52.7 cm rain fell between September 16 and September 22 which is 44 per cent above normal16.43 million people were affected by floods1,006 people died102 districts were affected34,931 houses were fully damaged772,676 people are living …
Tango with nature India has been using lakes, ponds and baolis (step wells) since ancient times ('What monsoon means', July 16-31, 2010). Delhi was once replete with water bodies. In the past 50 years, government agencies started disbanding natural ponds, lakes and baolis, declaring their water untested, and therefore, unfit …
There is one being-Indian-thing, which spans the urban-rural and the rich-poor divide: our annual watch and wait for the monsoon. It begins every year, without fail as heat climbs and the monsoon advances. The farmers wait desperately because they need the rain at the right time to sow their crops. …
FOR TWO decades snowfall was one of the parameters Indian meteorologists used to predict monsoon in the subcontinent. They believed there was an inverse relation between snowfall in the Himalaya and monsoon; the wider the snow cover, the weaker the rainfall. But since 2007 the India Meteorological Department has dismissed …
Greeshma Gopal Giri | ENS MERE spattering, brief spells will not suffice for certain parts of Ambattur Municipality this year; the prayers are for heavy rain. Delayed monsoon has led to wells drying up and groundwater level getting depleted. Water scarcity is particularly acute in the localities in and around …
Year to year variation of Indian monsoon rainfall is described qualitatively in some ancient Sanskrit texts. Interestingly, these are cyclic with periods of 3, 5, 7, 18 and 60 years. Time series analysis of actual seasonal rainfall data shows that at very near the above periods the spectrum has significant …
Rainfall prediction has prime importance in an agrarian country like India, wherein the agricultural production is solely dependent on the monsoon rainfall. Among various astro-meteorological methods for rainfall forecasting, the Antariksha method, which is based on sky observations, is most popular. The observations of rainfall conception based on 16 symptoms …
Meteorology isn't what it used to be predicting monsoons may become costlier now. An increase in the frequency of extreme weather events like intense rainfall has magnified the errors in observations and calculations required for predicting the weather. Chances for an error occurring depend on these parameters: the location of …
