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Drought by design: The man-made calamity in Bundelkhand

Despite its rich resources like forests and minerals, Bundelkhand is a region of distress and crisis. A study fi nds that the distress of the region simply cannot be explained by the absence or irregularity of rainfall. There are long-term structural problems which have had a cumulative effect over the …

Low water level in dams cause for concern

Gargi Parsai NEW DELHI: The combined live water storage level in 81 major reservoirs is lower this year as on December 31, 2009. But what has set the alarm bells ringing in official circles is that the storage level in the crucial dams in North India

Impact of exceptionally high rain and snowfall on Chir pine plantations in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh

Climate and its variability have been and continues to be the principal source of exceptional fluctuations which wreaked havoc on forests. In Chamba, up to an elevation of 1,800 m chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent) is the main naturally occurring coniferous tree in forests. Plantations of Chir pine are also …

Traditional almanac predicted rainfall A case study

Rainfall occurring over a place is very important from water resources planning and management point of view. The prediction of rainfall further helps in planning the activities of agriculturists, builders, water supply engineers, and others. At present the Meteorology Department is informing only short term forecasting about weather but long …

Monsoon rainfall cycles as depicted in ancient Sanskrit texts

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 …

Forecasting and validation of rainfall for Barshi in Maharashtra based on astro-meteorological principle of rainfall conception

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 …

Recent land degradation and improvement in China

Land degradation is a global development and environment issue that afflicts China more than most countries in terms of the extent, economic impact, and number of people affected. Up-to-date, quantitative information is needed to support policy and action for food and water security, economic development, and environmental integrity. Data for …

Study and analysis of surface weather parameters over Haryana using ERA-15 data (1979-93)

Total atmospheric moisture content present in the atmosphere is less than 1% of total atmospheric composition. The atmospheric moisture variability accounts for nearly 10% variation in global hydrological cycle. The atmospheric moisture variability occurs in the form of cloud cover and hence in to the precipitation. A prior knowledge of …

Kosi embankment breach in Nepal: Need for a paradigm shift in responding to floods

The breach of the Kosi embankment in Nepal in August 2008 marked the failure of conventional ways of controlling floods. After discussing the physical characteristics of the Kosi River and the Kosi barrage project, this paper suggests that the high sediment content of the Kosi River implies a major risk …

Phenomenon of green Sahara

The present-day Sahara Desert was previously a lush green region redundant with wildlife, savannah and swampland owing to a prehistoric climate change in the eastern Sahara, according to an in-depth archaeological study that highlights this theory. Original Source

Analysis of variability and trends of extreme rainfall events over India using 104 years of gridded daily rainfall data

In this study, using 104 years (1901–2004) of high resolution daily gridded rainfall data, variability and long-term trends of extreme rainfall events over central India have been examined. Frequency of extreme rainfall events shows significant inter-annual and inter-decadal variations in addition to a statistically significant long term trend of 6% …

Landslides, rain hit Arunachal districts

Surface communication at several places in Arunachal Pradesh has been disrupted following landslides triggered by torrential rain for the last couple of days. Official sources informed that the most worst affected districts were Dibang Valley, Lower Dibang Valley and Changlang. The road connecting Anini, headquarters of Dibang Valley districts to …

Farmers contest estimates

Contrary to the preliminary estimates which indicated that the crops worth Rs 100 crore were damaged in the district due to the recent rains, the official estimates are only showing a loss of around Rs 20 crore. Farmer allege that though crops in more than 40,000 hectare were damaged, the …

Neoliberal roots

The judgment one reaches on what the current year's Budget will do for farmers will vary depending on whether its provisions are seen as a sui generis exercise or are viewed within a longer term perspective that encompasses an awareness of the continuing and relentless drive to implement neoliberal policies …

Pollution studies on the road side paddy fields of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India

To study the effects of pollution on road side paddy fields, three paddy fields situated at Kuttikkulam, Elamankulam and Rajathanthirikkulam near National Highway-47 passing through Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu and a control paddy field far away from National Highway 47 in Kuttikkulam area which was free from highway run-off …

Tamil Nadu Government enhances compensation for farmers

The State government has decided to give Rs.7,500 as compensation for loss of each hectare of paddy crop, Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin informed the Assembly on Wednesday. This is Rs.3,500 more than the Centre-specified norm of Rs.4,000 per hectare. The government will foot the additional Rs.3,500 per hectare. It …

Central team to assess crop damage

A Central team will soon visit Tamil Nadu to assess the damage to the standing crop and property loss caused by the unusual rain that lashed several southern districts, M.K. Stalin, Minister for Local Administration and Rural Development said in Mudukaluthur on Tuesday. During his tour of flood-hit areas in …

Karunanidhi chairs meeting to review rain damage in Tamil Nadu

A clear picture on the status of damage caused by the present spell of heavy rain in the State, particularly in the southern districts, is likely to emerge by Tuesday evening when reports of the Collectors of the respective districts reach the government. As the rain has abated, the Collectors, …

Rain havoc in Kerala: Central team to visit this week

A Central team will visit Kerala later this week to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused to standing crop by the rains that lashed the State over the past week, killing 14 people. This was disclosed here on Monday by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Union Agriculture …

La Nina and positive SO cause for unusual rain?

The unusually-heavy rains over Tamil Nadu and other parts of southern peninsula may have been caused by La Nina and the positive phase of southern oscillation (SO), global scale circulation features. La Nina, the opposite of El Nino, pertains to the anomalous decline in the temperature of the central tropical …

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