NH66 in Kerala: Built Against Water logic, Designed to Collapse?

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Article: Sridhar Radhakrishnan

The collapse of the NH66 highway in Kerala is not yet another accident. It is the result of designing roads without listening to water, terrain, or people. Built in defiance of Kerala’s monsoon logic, paddy-wetland systems, and ecological memory, the highway blocks natural drainage, floods homes, and divides society. From ignored protests to forgotten flood lessons, its collapse is a story of what happens when asphalt arrogance meets a land shaped by rain.

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Room for optimality in Kerala Summer Electricity Demand vs Hydro Generation

May 3, 2025May 3, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

Guest Article by S P Ravi

The share of hydro electricity in the energy mix of state of Kerala has come down sharply over the last three summers. Hydro share that used to be around 25-30 percent in previous summers has come down to well below 15 percent on many days. This is despite a sharp rise in electricity demand since 2023.

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Rainfall

High Rainfall days in India’s districts in SW Monsoon 2024

October 24, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

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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Rainfall

June Aug 2024: District wise rainfall in India’s SW Monsoon

September 3, 2024October 23, 2024 SANDRP1 Comment

In the just concluded month of Aug 2024, India received just 295.2 mm (162.7 mm or 36.2% below normal in Aug 2023 [i], 263.8 mm in Aug 2022, 3.5% above the normal [ii]) or 15.8% above normal rainfall of 254.9 mm as per India Meteorological department (IMD). In Aug 2021, the rainfall was 195.9 mm [iii], about 24.13% below normal and in Aug 2020, the rainfall was 327 mm [iv], or about 26.6% above normal.

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Monsoon · Rainfall

June July 2022: District wise rainfall in India’s SW Monsoon

August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 SANDRPLeave a comment

In the just concluded month of July 2022, the second month of India’s South West 2022 monsoon, India received 327.7 mm rainfall, 16.8% above the normal July rainfall of 280.5 mm as per India Meteorological department. In July 2021, the rainfall was 266.1 mm [i], about 6.7% below normal and in July 2020, the rainfall was 257.1 mm [ii], or about 9.9% below normal.

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Monsoon · Rainfall

Heavy Rainfall in India in Oct-Nov 2021

December 7, 2021 SANDRP1 Comment

India has seen rather heavy rainfall in October and November 2021, with October All India Rainfall being 33% above normal and November rainfall being record breaking 86% above normal. The combined Oct + Nov Rainfall was 48% above normal, and by Dec 7, as we write this, it is already 53% above normal for the period from Oct 1 to Dec 7, 2021.

While lingering South West Monsoon brought large part of the excess rainfall in first half of October, the unusually active North East Monsoon with continuous supply of moisture from Bay of Bengal has been the main reason for the high rainfall since late October. The onset of La Nina has also contributed to this and with La Nina forecast to remain in place till March 2022, we are in for continued wet spell in South India, it seems. IMD has already forecast above normal rainfall in South Karnataka during Dec 2021 to Feb 2022.

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Agriculture · Climate Change · Kerala

Paddy farming in times of climate change – field notes – A sequel

October 26, 2021October 28, 2021 SANDRP3 Comments

Guest Article by Dr. Sreeja KG and Dr. Madhusoodhanan CG

Climate change and its impacts in the tropics are changing the once familiar landscapes, once certain weather patterns, once secure living spaces beyond recognition. The disasters that can be as local as a tidal surge to national level episodes of cyclones, wildfires and massive floods are being managed in the same administrative mode as has been the practice during the more forgiving past: without training, without relevant real time information, without involvement of the communities and often merely with the strong will and dedication of the field staff and local volunteers. With events far in between, episodic and with time to recoup, we have been spared total and irrevocable breakdown of the system and society. But for how long?

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Disasters · Floods

Kerala and Uttarakhand floods in Oct 2021: Did the forewarnings help?

October 26, 2021October 26, 2021 SANDRPLeave a comment

The October 2021 flood disasters in two ends of India, in Kerala and Uttarakhand have a lot common. Both happened after the end of normal dates of South West Monsoon 2021. In both cases it is repeat of earlier such disasters in respective states. In both cases, there were reports by expert reports warning about the disasters. In both cases the rainfall events were broadly along the lines warned by the climate scientists, but in both cases the state was ill prepared to cope with it. In both cases, inappropriate human interventions have worsened the disasters in major ways. And in both cases disaster management seems to be absent from ground. In both cases, more precise forecasts about the rainfall quantum and location would have helped. (Feature Image above is from The Hindustan Times, Oct 23, 2021)

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Monsoon · Rainfall

June July 2021 District Wise SW Monsoon Rainfall in India

July 31, 2021August 1, 2021 SANDRP2 Comments

In the just concluded month of July 2021, India received 266.1 mm rainfall, that is 6.73% below normal July rainfall of 285.3 mm, as per India Meteorological Department (IMD). This is in contrast with June 2021 rainfall, that was almost 11% surplus over Normal rainfall. Not only that surplus has been wiped out by the July 2021 deficit, the overall June July 2021 rainfall now is 449 mm, or about 0.7% below normal rainfall of 452.2 mm, as per IMD.

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Monsoon · Rainfall

June 2021: District wise rainfall in India’s SW Monsoon

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021 SANDRPLeave a comment

In the just concluded June 2021, the first month of India’s South West 2021 monsoon, India received 182.9 mm rainfall, 10.96% or about 11% more than the normal June rainfall of 166.9 mm as per India Meteorological department. In June 2020, the rainfall was 196.9 mm, or about 18% above normal and in June 2019 it was 33% below normal.

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