An analysis of the daily district wise rainfall data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) for India’s South West Monsoon 2023 shows that there were 2176 instances when a district rainfall of a day was above 50 mm. Such high rainfall instances included 1759 instances when rainfall was 50-100 mm, 329 instances when it was 100-150 mm, 64 times it was 150-200 mm and 24 times above 200 mm. Out of 717 districts of India, 531 districts or, about 74% of the districts experienced such high rainfall days during SW monsoon 2023.
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When the riverbanks bloom in color
Sharad Ritu or Autumn is eulogized in almost all Indian epics. Ramayana especially talks about the crystal clear waters, emerging silver sand banks and blossoming kash grasses along the rivers in this season.
Festivals around the autumnal harvest time, like Durga Puja and Navratri bring bustle and energy across the land. In Maharashtra, days before Navratri hold a special significance. Entire homes are washed, scrubbed and laundered before the deity enters the abode. But thousands of people living in tiny homes, with miniscule bathrooms have no place to wash their bedsheets, blankets, curtains and such home linen. No space and more importantly, no water.
And so, they gather along a place where people have been coming together since time immemorial: the riverbank.
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Frequent 2024 Floods in Bhagalpur-Bihar
Guest Article by: Dr. Ruchi Shree
In 2024, Bihar received 19 percent less rainfall than the normal rainfall and one of its districts named Bhagalpur even lesser with 29 percent. From 1 June to October 21, this district of South Bihar situated on the banks of the Ganga received merely 713.8 mm rain while the expectation was 1054.3 mm according to India Meteorological Department figures. It is the third consecutive year when Bihar has received lesser rainfall than expectation[i] and it is likely to worsen the water scenario in the coming years. On the other hand, Bihar faced severe flood this year and Bhagalpur was one of its worst affected districts due to a rise in the level of the Ganga. In a span of around 45 days i.e. from mid-August to end of September, Bhagalpur faced floods four times. This writing is based on my observation of three locations in Nathnagar block of Bhagalpur — two villages named Dildarpur and Biharipur and the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU) premise (administrative wing and Lalbagh Professors’ Colony). TMBU is quite close to Dildarpur village (situated on the Diyara land between Champa Nalla/River and river Ganga).
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DRP NB 21×24: New Warnings from Studies about Global Water Changes
(Feature Image (Screenshot): Atmospheric rivers occur all over the world, as this animation of global satellite data from February 2017 shows. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)
A number of reports listed below this week throw fresh light on functioning of global water cycle, some of the findings should be seriously worrying. The studies show how the countries across the globe have water connections that go far beyond shared rivers, lakes and seas. And how these components of global water cycles are not only changing, but are under unprecedented stress and could take the global water cycles off balance.
Another study about atmospheric rivers that provides some of the largest high intensity rainfalls show that these rivers are shifting, which can have far reaching consequences for large sub-tropical areas, polar areas and others. For understanding their implications, more studies particularly focusing on shifting El Nino and La Nina streams are required.
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2024: Dams, Mining, Construction Damaging Gangetic Dolphin Habitats
(Feature Image: Dolphin corpse found along Ganga in Sahibganj, Jharkhand in Feb. 2024. Image source: ETV Bharat)
Despite declaring Gangetic Dolphin a National Aquatic Animal in May 2010, launching of Project Dolphin in August 2020 and recognizing October 05 as National Dolphin Day since 2022, the key species indicating river health continues to face unnatural deaths and threats from various developmental activities. This overview highlights the incidents of suspicious death of precious mammal and looming threats on its habitat along with some noteworthy steps being taken by conservationists and governments to protect the endangered species.
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SW Monsoon 2024: Rivers Crossing Highest Flood Levels
During southwest monsoon season 2024, SANDRP has tracked at least 64 flood forecast and flood monitoring sites where the respective rivers have crossed the highest flood levels (HFL). Here we present detailed analysis of these sites along with some key observations and other relevant information. SANDRP’s previous reports on the subject can be seen here: HFL breach incidents in 2018, 2019, 2020, May-Sept 2021, Oct.-Nov 2021, May-June 2022, July-October 2022, June-October 2023.
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DRP NB 14×24: Big Dams, Long distance water will not solve Urban Water Crisis
In a pointed article this week, Sachin Tiwale rightly writes that Mumbai does not need more dams, but needs to fix the distribution of more than enough water that it gets currently. Same is the case with highly capital and energy intensive 5th stage of Cauvery Water Supply being inaugurated on Oct 16 by the Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy CM for Bangalore, advertised through full page advertisements today (Oct 14) in newspapers in Bangalore.
What the India’s cities need is to exhaust the potential of local water resources, including rain water, local water bodies including rivers, groundwater recharge, recycle and reuse of treated sewage and also demand side measures, including fixing the distribution and reducing transmission and distribution losses. All of this needs attention through a National Urban Water Policy that will also fix the Urban Water Governance.
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High Rainfall days in India’s districts in Sept 2024: Highest numbers in East India
An analysis of the daily district wise rainfall data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the month of September 2024, the last month of India’s South West Monsoon 2024 shows that there were 546 (406 in Sept 2023[i], 417 in Sept 2022[ii] and 489 in Sept 2021[iii]) instances when district rainfall of a day was above 50 mm. Such high rainfall instances included 438 (330, 365 and 374 in Sept 2023, Sept 2022 and 2021 respectively) instances in Sept 2024 when rainfall was 50-100 mm, 73 (64, 47 and 84 in Sept 2023, Sept 2022 and 2021 respectively) instances in Sept 2024 when it was 100-150 mm, 30 (10, 3 and 20 in Sept 2023, Sept 2022 and 2021 respectively) times in Sept 2024 when it was 150-200 mm and 5 (2, 2 and 11 in Sept 2023, Sept 2022 and 2021 respectively) instances in Sept 2024 when rainfall in a day was above 200 mm.
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DRP NB 07×24: Global Dam Safety Challenge in Changing Climate
(Feature Image: Water flows around the Rapidan Dam near Mankato, Minn., on June 24, 2024, after heavy rains in the Upper Midwest. AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
It is increasingly clear that Large Dams across the world are facing increasing challenge due to climate change. In recent years, we have already seen serious dam disasters in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Kenya, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Sudan and USA to name just a few.
All these are related to extreme rainfall events, which are going to only increase in intensity, frequency and spread. It is interesting that hydro industry platform has come out with this report highlighting this issue this week.
For a country like India, the third large dam builder in the world, this challenge is going to be even more daunting as we have been seeing the increasing number of dams related disasters in last few years. As we remember the Teesta 3 dam disaster a year ago, the nature and dimension of this challenge becomes even starker. This is also exemplified by the fact that the dam safety panel report about this disaster is not even out in public domain. And even now new theories are being proposed about what happened during the disaster.
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SW Monsoon 2024: District wise rainfall in India
In the just concluded South West Monsoon 2024, India received 934.8 mm (820 mm in SW Monsoon 2023, 925 mm in SW Monsoon 2022[i]) rainfall, about 107.6% (94.45 % in 2023, 106.5% in 2022) of the Normal SW Monsoon rainfall of 868.6 mm as per India Meteorological Department (IMD). This rainfall is categorised as above normal rainfall.
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SANDRP 