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 …
The food situation in drought-hit Kenya is a cause for serious concern. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation ( fao ), there has been a sharp increase in deaths due to starvation, especially among children. Most of the areas have received little or no rainfall, leading to …
the imambara of Nawab Asif-ud-daula at Lucknow ranks among the greatest architectural achievements of the Muslim period. It is a sacred building in which
romania's economic stability is being threatened by a severe drought that has destroyed a majority of the country's agricultural produce. Forestry and agriculture make up 14 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. According to Paul Bondarev, director general of snif, the national reclamation council responsible for the country's …
a reconstruction of climate using lake sediments suggests that African climate in previous centuries was much lethal than in the last 30 years. "Those centuries saw huge swings in African rainfall. The fluctuations seem to be tied to variations in the radiative output of the Sun,' says Dirk Verschuren of …
With the spate of political support that the concept of rainwater harvesting has received in recent weeks from Central ministers and state chief ministers, the attack from pro-dam lobbies had to come. The government of Gujarat appears to be especially miffed as it had probably hoped that this drought would …
AS FAR AS the eye can see, it is a mass of horns in a desiccated, semi-arid landscape. The horns emerge sideways from the head, turn up, and then arch back at the tips, as if swept back by the wind. Kankrej, native to northern Gujarat, is quite a regal-looking …
The slump in rainfall, as experienced in most parts of South Africa, will result in a severe spell of prolonged drought, according to a warning issued by the Kenya Meteorological Department ( kmd ). They have predicted that the severity of this drought, which commenced last year, will be worse …
With an eye on the drought situation that has gripped India, the United Nations (UN)have issued a warning that drought in Pakistan and Afghanistan could threaten millions of people andlivestock. "We do have a very critical situation,' said Onder Yucer, the UN's resident coordinator for Pakistan. Yucer had earlier approached …
the World Bank has held the central government responsible for the severe water crisis experienced in different parts of the country. It said that the drought situation was a direct result of the lack of effective water management and planning by the government. "The present institutional arrangements in India do …
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan's Chief Executive General Parvez Musharraf had, among their various other duties, one common task
it was a meeting with an amazing lesson. The subject was rainwater harvesting. But the message was one on governance. And a truly stark one. If only India could learn from it. Since the release of its book Dying Wisdom: The Rise, Fall and Potential of Traditional Rainwater Harvesting Systems …
as the drought continues to tightens its vise-like grip on the land, killing people and cattle alike, the entire country turns to watching the sky for succor. The fleecy clouds - precusor of the approaching monsoon. This year, Indians have begun their vigil for the arrival of the monsoon earlier …
it's now official. Cherrapunji, which holds the record for the highest rainfall in the world, faces water shortage. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the minister of state for agriculture Satyanarayana Rao said the water supply in Cherrapunji was
During one of the meetings of the World Water Commission, which recently submitted its report in The Hague to a bevy of water ministers, a member had strongly emphasised the need for educating politicians about the importance of water. I, however, found that argument incorrect because I have rarely met …
drought is among the most commonly recurring natural disasters in the world. In India, it upsets the country's food security by seriously affecting agriculture, which is heavily dependent on the monsoon. In an attempt to predict such occasions, some researchers have attempted to link drought with the El Ni
even as this story goes to the press, Gujarat may be witnessing many more clashes over water. From as early as December 1999, when three farmers lost their lives in the riots over water in Jamnagar district, the dread of the dry summer months ahead was felt across the state. …
Indians have lived with drought since time immemorial. Communities have built water-harvesting structures and learnt to treasure the value of every raindrop. All this has been done keeping in mind that it does not rain throughout the year and it may not rain next year. Therefore it would not be …
horticulture experts from the us have warned apple growers not to apply harmful compounds to trees that can kill aphid parasites and mite predators. These compounds can damage their produce and the production level will automatically drop. Experts visiting the apple-growing areas of Shimla have said that factors like drought …
