The Oct 2019 rainfall all over India was 109.7 mm, 44% above normal expected rainfall of 76 mm, following 53% above normal in Sept 2019. The rainfall this month has been unusual and has had some major impacts. One of the reasons has been that the SW monsoon withdrawal continued well into Oct 2019, when it almost always gets over by the end of Sept. There were also several cyclonic circulations and depressions mostly from Arabian sea. Continue reading “44% above normal rainfall in Oct 2019 creates hopes for Rabi, Disaster for Kharif crops at many places”
Author: SANDRP
Candid, helpful book on India’s Climate Crisis
Book Review: The Climate Solution: India’s Climate-Change Crisis and What We Can Do abut It. By Mridula Ramesh. Hachette India. 2019. Pp 344 + viii.
Rarely you would see a book terming India’s Climate Challenge as CRISIS. “The Climate Solution” by Mridula Ramesh does that then explains why it is being termed as crisis, what is the science behind it. The book then goes on to provide wide range of steps to help tackle the various aspects of the crisis. All in an eminently readable form. This is certainly a better book on this important subject than whatever I have read so far. Continue reading “Candid, helpful book on India’s Climate Crisis”
2019 All India summary of CWC flood forecasting sites
This article provides and overview of flood forecasting work of Central Water Commission (CWC) in 2019 after looking closely at each site details for the five regions of India: North East[i], East[ii], North[iii], West[iv] and South[v] India.
The table below provides an overview of number of Level Forecasting, Level Monitoring and Inflow forecasting sites as per CWC’s FF website during 2019 floods for all the states and regions of India.
Continue reading “2019 All India summary of CWC flood forecasting sites”
2019 Monsoon: Instances when Dam Safety Came into Question
The South West Monsoon in 2019 in India brought the highest rainfall of last 25 years and issues related to heavy rainfall continue even to the end of October 2019. Here we have listed major instances during the monsoon when there were question marks over safety of dams either due to structural safety or due to wrong operations of the dams. Some issues of breaches of embankments/ canals are also included here. As we can see, the instances come from across the country, including North East, North, West, Centre, South.
Continue reading “2019 Monsoon: Instances when Dam Safety Came into Question”
Rivers That Reached New Highest Flood Level during Monsoon 2019
In the monsoon season of 2019 Indian rivers have crossed Highest Flood Level (HFL) at around 37 Level Forecasting and Level Monitoring sites across the country. This account attempts basin wise details and description of HFL breached by the rivers.
Brahmaputra Basin (Assam)
In Brahmaputra basin 2 sites, 1 Aie NH Xing Level Monitoring site on River Aie in Barpeta district of Assam and Dhubri (Level Forecast) site on River Brahmaputra in Dhubri district of Assam narrowly crossed the HFL in July 2019.
Also River Barak at ANIPUR site in Karimganj district on May 24 and River Brahmaputra at Goalpara site in Goalpara district rose close to the HFL level on July 17, 2019. As per CWC (Central Water Commission) FF Website, Goalpara site has not crossed HFL since 1954.
Continue reading “Rivers That Reached New Highest Flood Level during Monsoon 2019”
DRP: 28 Oct 2019: Growing opposition to Large Hydro Projects
As can be seen from the news reports from Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Arunchal Pradesh, Karnataka, among others, the opposition to Large Hydro Projects and Big Dam is growing all over India. These projects are neither economically viable, nor Socially-environmentally sustainable. There are much better options exist and hope the governments takes informed, democratic decisions. Going by the agenda and minutes of the recent Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects and other decisions, this hope seems far fetched at the moment.
Continue reading “DRP: 28 Oct 2019: Growing opposition to Large Hydro Projects”
The floods of Jiadhal River in Assam
Guest blog by Sazzad Hussain
Late Kartik Pegu, grandfather of Bipin Pegu of Jiadhal Chariali village under Dhemaji Revenue Circle of Dhemaji district in northeast Assam prepared his own burial site during early 1970s on the bank of Jiadhal River. The site, a paddy field, has been owned by the Patir family of the village near the railway bridge over the river. Kartik Pegu was buried there when he died in 1976 and a tombstone was built in his memory. After that in 1985 Bilapson Pegu, Bipin’s father, too was buried on the same site and another tombstone was placed in his memory close to that of Kartik Pegu. Now Bipin Pegu (47), a college graduate and a local peasant with three children wishes him to be buried on the same plot of land when he dies. But on the evening of 16 September, 2019, his wishes for final rest close to his near and dear ones were shattered when Jiadhal River suddenly surged with overflowing water submerging the tombstones of Bipin’s immediate ancestors. He has never seen them being under water so far. Continue reading “The floods of Jiadhal River in Assam”
DRP: 21 Oct. 2019: Opposition to restarting work on Lower Subansiri HEP without addressing Assam people’s concerns
With work on NHPC Ltd’s 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri hydro power project restarting after a wait of almost eight years, anti-dam organisations led by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) vowed to launch an intense resistance movement to stop further construction of the project. AASU, in a statement, alleged that work on the Lower Subansiri project at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border has been started ‘treacherously’, risking the lives and property of people living in the downstream area. AASU said a scientific study on the possible impact of the dam in its downstream areas besides a cumulative impact study must be completed before expediting work at the dam site.
Continue reading “DRP: 21 Oct. 2019: Opposition to restarting work on Lower Subansiri HEP without addressing Assam people’s concerns”
South India Overview of CWC Flood Forecasting Sites 2019
Flood Forecasting (FF) is one of the important activities of Central Water Commission (CWC), which is undergoing expansion and improvement, but there is still a huge scope for improvement. In order to better understand the CWC’s flood monitoring and forecasting work, in this article, we have given an overview of CWC’s flood forecasting and monitoring sites in South India, the last region to be covered for 2019 flood season. It includes state wise list of CWC’s Level Forecast, Inflow Forecast and level monitoring sites in South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (no FF sites) and Kerala. Similar report has been published for North India[i] and North East India[ii], East India[iii] and West India[iv]. Continue reading “South India Overview of CWC Flood Forecasting Sites 2019”
River Wise Rainfall in Monsoon 2019
Indian media never seems to report this, but IMD (India Meteorological Department) also provides river basin wise rainfall figures for South West Monsoon, also for other seasons. As in the previous years, here is an overview of the river basin wise rainfall during just concluded SW Monsoon 2019 (June-Sept 2019, though the monsoon started withdrawing only on Oct 9 and has not yet fully withdrawn from across India as I write this on Oct 15 2019), like the way we have been doing for the last three years[i]. Our earlier monsoon 2019 articles provided monsoon over view[ii], state wise rainfall figures[iii] and Marathwada specific situation[iv].
It’s not clear why Indian media does not report river basin wise rainfall figures, since that is arguably, the most appropriate way to look at the rainfall figures, since river basins are the hydrological units and the run off from the rainfall ends up in the rivers, and creates floods many times, as happened during 2019 monsoon. There could be issues of quality of the river basin wise rainfall figures, but that is true for all IMD’s rainfall figures at some level or other. Continue reading “River Wise Rainfall in Monsoon 2019”
SANDRP 