The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
A strong hailstorm hit many parts of Manipur on Thursday night leaving a trail of destruction mostly in the four valley districts. The hailstorm started from 7.30 p.m. and lasted till 10.30 p.m. Vast areas of vegetables and fruit bearing trees were destroyed. The strong wind also blew away roofs …
State severely threatened by climate change, says State Action Plan on Climate Change Alappuzha, Palakkad, Wayanad and Idukki districts are climate change hotspots in Kerala, with a high degree of vulnerability to natural hazards like flood and drought and impact on biodiversity and human life. The State Action Plan on …
A monsoon failure in 2014 due to El Niño’s return could slow the pace of economic recovery, and gross domestic product could grow just 5.2% in the 2014-15 fiscal, said a Crisil Research report on Tuesday. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said last week that El Niño conditions, which caused the …
Punjab, Rajasthan oppose state’s plea on using Hansi-Butana canal Citing Centre’s alert on possible drought in 2014 due to the El Nino effect, Haryana today pleaded in the Supreme Court for using the 109-km Hansi-Butana canal by pumping water from the Bakhra Mainline (BML). Since the SC had restrained Haryana …
The terrestrial ecosystems of North America have been identified as a sink of atmospheric CO2 though there is no consensus on the magnitude. However, the emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (CH4 and N2O) may offset or even overturn the climate cooling effect induced by the CO2 sink. Using a coupled …
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday ruled out a sharp fall in foodgrain production because of an anticipated adverse impact of El Nino on the southwestern monsoon. “Our Met department is seriously concentrating on this subject. We have seen this situation in 2009 as well. But according to the assessment …
In 2006, then President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, a native of Brazil's historically drought-plagued northeast, pushed through an idea that long-suffering residents of the region had been hearing about for more than a century. At last, he promised, Brazil would channel water to the sun-baked region from the São …
Before the onset of summer, the Forest Department here has started identifying existing waterholes in the Sathyamangalam forests that needs to be deepened. Natural causes Though dry conditions are likely to cause water shortage during the summer months, the situation may not turn as bad as last year when seven …
Power crisis will worsen water problems, say officials With the onset of summer season, several areas of the district are expected to face drinking water problems in the coming days. Though Mysore city is expected to receive enough water from reservoirs, thanks to favourable monsoons and filled reservoirs, Mysore taluk …
Zilla panchayat (ZP) president Ambika Ramanna, here on Wednesday, called upon officers to give priority to drinking water projects. Addressing officers during the Karnataka Development Programme review meeting, she said that as six taluks in the district were drought-hit, many areas were facing drinking water shortage. People had to travel …
Effects of climate change are frequently claimed to be responsible for widespread civil violence. Yet, scientists remain divided on this issue, and recent studies suggest that conflict risk increases with higher rainfall, loss of rainfall, higher temperatures or none of the above. Lack of scientific consensus is driven by differences …
The last extreme El Nino, in 1997-98, resulted in the hottest year on record. The world’s most devastating global weather phenomenon — the weather events associated with “El Nino” — will double in frequency to once a decade if global warming remains unchecked, according to what scientists believe is a …
India's first climate change theatre was opened at Pushpa Gujral Science City in Kapurthala on Thursday to educate people on one of the pressing developmental issue in the world. According to Science City authorities, while this theatre is India's first, it is second in the world, with the other in …
Scientific and business communities increasingly recognize that climate change is causing weather extremes and precipitating natural disasters, such as the European heat wave of 2003, the drought in East Africa in 2011, and in 2012 the worst drought in the US since 1956. In one report, which examined a number …
Nobel laureate Venkataraman ‘Venki’ Ramakrishnan on Monday came down heavily on those opposed to genetic modification of agricultural crops. In an exclusive interview to The Hindu , he said there was definitely a need to be careful while dealing with GM crops with proper regulatory mechanism, but one should not …
The Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam affiliated to Communist Party of India (CPI) said that the farmers who had raised rain fed crops had suffered heavy loss due to the failure of North-East monsoon and demanded adequate compensation to the affected farmers. The farmers had raised crops fetching huge loans, and …
Horil Singh, a farmer from Rajapakkar village of Vaishali district in Bihar, has been seeing fluctuations in rainfall pattern and temperature for almost a decade now. This has impacted his paddy and pulse produce to a large extent till a global initiative launched in 2010, to help small farmers in …
Gem mining in Seethawaka river has been taken over by the Sri Lankan government, National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA). According to Director General Janaka Udaya Kumara, this decision was taken to prevent illegal gem mining in the Thalduwa area of Seethawaka river. Read more in this October 2013 edition …
What we desperately close our mind to is once again becoming pronounced ever more clearly: climate change is here; it is already bringing devastating extreme weather events; and it will become worse in the years to come. In late September, part I of the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental …
Darez Ahamed says hydrograph for 15 years shows horizontal trend Farmers are hopeful of restoring Perambalur’s pride as the number one producer of onion in the State if the government heeds Collector Darez Ahamed to reclassify the groundwater status of the district. At present, Perambalur is classified as an “overexploited” …
