Is global warming reason for Indian floods?
We all have been taught in school about the irregularity of Indian rainfall. For the past few years, India has been witnessing deficit rains but this year things have changed. Not for good though.
Rains and landslides have flooded several states of the country. As Karnataka and Kerala in South India grapple with widespread destruction, northern states are bracing for the worst. Kolhapur and Sangli in Maharashtra are worst-hit. A flood alert was sounded in parts of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, with the Yamuna and other rivers flowing above the danger mark.
If reports are to be believed around 300 people have lost their lives due to truant rains and thousand others have been displaced.
But why do we get too much rain in a year while there’s deficit in other years? Though this year states like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Assam are hit by floods and excessive rainfall, in other parts of the country, rainfall has been severely deficient or is just beginning to catch up.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), from 1 June-21 August, Easto and North-East India received 15% less rain than the average. While north-west India received 2% less. This is balanced by 13% excess rain in central India and 6% excess in south peninsular India. But nothing is been balanced.
While one part of the country is affected by floods, the other parts are craving for water. It all boils down to climate change. And though the government departments are trying to figure out this unbalanced phenomenon, we need to focus more on the impact of global warming on Indian subcontinent.
Did you know
India’s very first monsoon forecast was made on 4th June 1886. From 1871 until 2006, the monsoon season has been normal 94 times, with 23 years recorded as droughts.
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